Reliance Infocomm Ltd, a unit of India's powerful Reliance group, switched on a range of telecoms services on Friday that promise to shake up the mobile phone industry in one of the world's fastest growing markets.

"I see this (mobile) market growing by a million additions (customers) a month," chairman Mukesh Ambani said at a news conference at the firm's 132-acre complex on the outskirts of Bombay, adding that Reliance hoped to grab a 15 to 20 per cent share of India's mobile market by the end of 2004.

Reliance's services span cell phones that offer limited mobility, long distance and international calls, Internet access, information and entertainment through a 60,000-km terabit fibre-optic network, linking 673 towns and cities in the initial phase.

When the $5.0 billion, 116,000-km network is completed in about two years, it will eventually link 640,000 villages and 2,500 towns across India.

India, with the world's second-largest population -- over one billion -- behind China, has about 10.5 million mobile phone users and close to 40 million wireline customers.

By comparison, China, the fastest growing telecoms market, has nearly 200 million cellular users and 209 million fixed-line customers.

Reliance uses US-based Qualcomm Inc's code division multiple access 2000 1X standard for its limited mobility service. Other cellular operators offering unlimited mobility work on the rival GSM platform.

Reliance Infocomm, 45 per cent owned by petrochemicals and refining giant Reliance Industries Ltd which is India's largest private company, will start services on January 15 when 200,000 franchisees fan out to sell the facility across India.

Pricing

Retail bookings will start in February, when subscribers are offered a promotional three-year membership at 3,000 rupees ($62.5), a free handset and a monthly payment of 600 rupees, which includes 400 minutes of talk time at 0.40 paise a minute.

"We are shooting... to make a profit in the first year once we get into commercial services," Ambani said.

He said incoming calls, voicemail, text messaging and Internet access would all be free.

Reliance's services will compete with other players in the sector including the largest cellular services provider Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd and state-run Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd.

Other rivals include the Indian units of Hong Kong's Hutchison Whampoa and Idea Cellular -- a venture between US giant AT&T and India's Tata and Birla conglomerates.