Reliance Communications (RCom) in partnership with video conferencing solution provider, Polycom will offer wireless video conferencing services through the operator’s Reliance Webstores.

The arrangement will see Polycom QDX 6000 system being bundled with VPN connectivity through Reliance Netconnect Broadband. RCom expects the wireless medium to trigger mass usage of video conferencing services in India.

The alliance is mainly targeting the enterprise community including the SME segment.

Reliance Webstore offers video conferencing services even now and claims to have over 1500 corporate clients.

Commenting on its partnership with Polycom, Mr Sarup Chowdhary, Director & CEO, Reliance Webstore Limited said, “Reliance World operates the world's largest network of video conferencing suites. Through our alliance with Polycom, we are making video conferencing a simple plug-and-play operation that can be deployed and used virtually anytime, anywhere.”

Mr Hansjoerg Wagner, Vice President and Managing Director, Polycom Asia Pacific, said, “The wireless video conferencing solution jointly developed by Polycom and Reliance is truly a unique innovation on a global scale. Although mobile broadband exists in many markets, India is the first country in the world to deliver a wireless video conferencing service. Through our partnership with Reliance Communications, and our relationships with other leading vendors in the Unified Communications ecosystem, Polycom sees that visual communications will be ubiquitous within two to three years.”

The alliance will offer the services in over 40 cities and subsequently will be expanded to cover more places.

Mr. Vrajesh Shelat, Head – Wireless Data Business, Reliance Communications Ltd. said, “Our robust pan-India network is equipped to deliver a lifelike video experience over a secure Virtual Private Network connectivity. Reliance Netconnect Broadband+ is well-equipped to handle the taxing demands of video conferencing. The launch of the world's first high-resolution wireless video conferencing service further reinforces Reliance’s capability of delivering innovative solutions. The corporate sector, especially the growing Services and SME sectors, will benefit greatly from this offering.”

The system will be offered for a price of sub-Rs 2 lakh and an Rs1.500 per month plan has been specially designed for the service which includes 10 GB of monthly usage. Usage beyond the limit will be charged at 50 paise per MB.

RCom says that it sees major off-take of the service in mini-metros & smaller cities, especially in the SME business clusters, and expects nearly 60% of the sales to come from these geographies.