RCOM launches Rural Mobile Application Contest
MUMBAI: Reliance Communications, India?s largest integrated telecommunications player with plans to extend its network coverage to 600,000 villages by 2008, has announced the launch of a nation-wide contest for developing rural mobile applications. This is the first instance a telecom operator has announced such a contest especially for rural market.
Conducted under the aegis of the Reliance Developer Programme, the contest aims to acknowledge and encourage outstanding young talent in the area of mobile applications development in India. The award winning applications will be deployed on its Reliance Mobile World platform and interactive Voice services portal. Also, for the first time mobile applications will be developed for both GSM and CDMA technology and Interactive Services Voice Portal. Applications can be submitted for WAP, Java, Reliance Java, Brew, Brew Lite,, Symbian and VoxML environments.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Mahesh Prasad, President, Applications, Solutions and Content Group, said, ?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. 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.?
This year the focus will be on rural applications for transportation, m-commerce, health care services, governance, education, information and location based services that cater to the needs of rural population. RCOM invites applications from talented developers for the contest which is open between October 15th 2007 and February 15th, 2008.Interested developers can register for the contest on the Reliance Developer Programme website www.dadp.combefore 25th of Dec 2007 and can send in their entries via e- mail to rdp.contest@relianceada.com. The entries are invited under two broad categories ? ?Students? and ?General?. An expert panel of judges representing telecom industry, academia and IT associations will be judging the applications. The mobile applications submitted will be judged on the basis of user interface, innovativeness, functionality and business potential. The winners of the contest will be announced at a gala award ceremony that will be held in March 2008 by RCOM.
The Mobile Application Contests held in 2005 and 2006 have enticed hundreds of developers. The last two contests received an overwhelming response. The student community had shown a keen interest with over 60% of the entries coming in from the student category. Mr. Kiran Karnik, Ex- President of NASSCOM and Mr. Sam Pitroda, Chairperson, National Knowledge Commission felicitated the winners of the Mobile Application Contests held in 2005 and 2006 respectively at special award ceremonies held in Mumbai and Delhi.
The Reliance Developer Programme( RDP) launched in December 2002 aims to provide a unique platform to the developer community in India to innovate, ideate, showcase and participate in developing path-breaking and marketable applications. Reliance is keen to assist anyone with a good idea from innovative established companies to entrepreneurial individuals from the University community to Business professionals.Through the University Relations Programme(URP), the Reliance Developer Programme aims to provide a platform and act as a catalyst to promote innovation and entrepreneurship among the vast student talent pool in India. The Reliance Developer Programme currently has a member base of over 19,000 registered developers including 1000 small and medium companies.