Reliance Communications - Microsoft partnership

Reliance Communications Ltd has informed that the Company and Microsoft on November 05, 2007 announced a strategic partnership to deliver a highly connected, personalized TV experience to consumers in India though Reliance's IPTV service, which will be powered by the award-winning Microsoft® Mediaroom™ Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) software platform. The announcement was made by Anil D Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Communications, and Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, at a press event on November 05, 2007 in Mumbai, India. Reliance Communications shall have the exclusive deployment right for the platform in India.

Reliance's IPTV service, powered by the Microsoft Mediaroom platform, will allow Reliance to deliver entirely new, connected and personalized television experiences for Indian consumers, with several advanced features, such as video-on-demand (VOD), digital video recording (DVR), instant channel changing, and personal media sharing. IPTV subscribers will be able to watch popular standard definition (SD) content as well as high definition (HD) content - for the first time in India - at the click of a button from the comfort of their homes, and enjoy a connected entertainment experience that will soon allow them to watch their favorite shows on their TV or PC. The service will be launched by fiscal end (March 2008).

"As consumers today are becoming more sophisticated, they are demanding more compelling and personalized entertainment to suit their individual needs and preferences," said Anil D Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Communications. "Until now, TV has been a broadcast, 'one-size-fits-all' experience. Backed by powerful Microsoft Mediaroom software, IPTV promises to offer our subscribers more choice, control, and convenience, and at the end of the day, a unique and more satisfying user experience. We're excited to partner with Microsoft to unlock the potential of television and offer Indian subscribers the very best TV and connected entertainment experiences."

The IPTV service will also target an area of great degree of ambiguity as far as TV content and advertising goes, in India. There is, at present, no clear indication of how much of the content and advertising is really reaching the target audience and what the returns for the spends are. A two-way interactive medium can rectify this.

"Reliance Communications is well poised to leverage its next-gen optical fiber network to unleash the 'Connected Digital Home' phenomena", said Prakash Bajpai, President of Home and Enterprise Business at RCOM. "This revolutionary new IPTV will give viewers complete control on Home entertainment as well as Internet-enabled information and communication services on as 'always ON' basis."