RCom, Canadian firm may ink mobile deal

Reliance Communications is believed to be in advanced talks with Canadian firm Iseemedia Inc for mobile mail gateway agreement that will provide email facilities to low-end handsets.

The deal is estimated to be around Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion), RCom sources said.

As part of this agreement, RCom will launch SMS-enabled Email solution for both GSM and CDMA customers, sources added.

RCom has 82 million wireless subscribers. The service will be offered on pre-paid and post-paid platforms as a subscription service.

Sources said the company is expected to offer the service on a monthly subscription fee of Rs 30 and a usage tariff of Re 1 per email sent.

This solution will enable every mobile handset (including base level/entry handsets) to act as a smartphone enabling the user to check, download and retrieve email messages.

When contacted, an RCom spokesperson declined to comment.

Iseemedia's mobile mail infrastructure will be integrated with Reliance Communication's main telecom infrastructure backbone. RCom's pan-India network spreads over 1.9 lakh kilometers of fibre optic cable systems.