Rediff in partnership with Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) Wednesday introduced a mobile email service for Rs.50 a month.
“We will provide quite secure and user-friendly services. Its most features are like BlackBerry. But it is cheaper, more importantly, works on most phones including entry-level phones,” said Ajit Balakrishnan, chairman and CEO of Rediff.com India.
He said the company had entered into a partnership with MTNL to initially launch the service in Delhi NCR and Mumbai.
“We are in advance stage of discussions with major telecom operators like Airtel, Vodafone and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and will introduce the services in other parts of the country soon,” said Balakrishnan.
He said the company wants to target 100 million customers in the next few years.
The new service, called Rediffmail NG, works on almost all mobile phone platforms including Symbian, Java and Android. It offers seamless synchronisation between PC and mobile phones.
According to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data, there were over 670 million mobile phone users in India by the end of August 2010.
“There is huge business opportunity in this sector. We target to reach at least 100 million customers in the next few years,” said Balakrishnan.
“With Rediffmail NG, we offer an affordable email service for the mass market, helping individuals communicate and conduct business anywhere and anytime, enabling Indian entrepreneurs compete with the world.
“Even small-sized business owners will now have a cost-effective way to equip their employees with mobile communications and increase productivity.
“Our approach in this product design has been inspired by the Tata Nano, which has made it possible for millions of people to aspire to own a car,” he added.