India’s largest telecom provider Reliance Communication plans to extend their network coverage to 600,000 villages by 2008 and thus announced the launch of a nation-wide contest for developing rural mobile applications.
Conducted under the Reliance Developer Programme which was launched in December 2002 to provide a unique platform to developer community in India to innovate, ideate, showcase and participate in developing path breaking and marketable applications.
According to Mahesh Prasad, President, Applications, Solutions and Content Group, “RCOM has always been at the forefront of developing applications suitable to customers across segments and regions. As we embark on our objective of covering over 600,000 villages by March 2008, there will be a huge market for rural applications.”
He added, “This initiative of ours will help us create a databank of exciting applications relevant in the rural context. Our Reliance Developer Programme is a massive talent hunt of its kind, the fruits of which the country will reap in the years to come.”
Reliance Communications focus would be on the rural application for transportation, m-commerce, governance, education, information and location based services that satisfy the needs of rural population.
RCOM has invited talented developers and also students for the contest. The entries are in two categories- ‘Students’ and ‘General’. The applicants will be judged by a panel of experts representing telecom industry, academia and IT associations.
The contest runs between October 15th 2007 and February 15 2008. Interested developers can head to the website www.dadp.com before 25th of Dec 2007 and can send in their entries via email to [email protected].