After announcing his re-entry into telecom a few days ago following a patch-up with younger brother Anil Ambani, Reliance Industries' chairman Mukesh Ambani on Friday said that prospects of the sector were much brighter now than they were at the time when he had spearheaded the undivided group's foray.
"We are faced with a much larger opportunity in broadband today than we were with voice in 2001...the possibilities are limitless," Ambani said, addressing the annual general meeting of Reliance Industries Limited in Mumbai.
Ambani had lost telecom to younger sibling Anil during the division of businesses in 2005, after having nurtured it for three years.
The family pact had a non-compete clause which prohibited him from entering the business. It was annulled last month, paving the way for Ambani to re-enter the space. RIL bought 95 per cent in Infotel, the only operator to have successfully bid for a pan-India broadband wireless access (BWA) license, which enables it to offer fourth generation services.
Divulging operational plans, Ambani said the company will be adopting an asset-light, partnerships-heavy approach which will entail strategic partners like device manufacturers, service and infrastructure providers.
The company will be building up a wireless innovation centre in Mumbai to seed the ecosystem of content creators, application developers and technology players, he said.
A platform like broadband access will help in "digital inclusion" of people and enable national transformation by helping in programmes like the unique identity, health and education and also helps in employment generation, he said.
