Escotel connects over 450 villages in UP and Haryana

Escotel Mobile Communications Ltd, a cellular service provider for UP (West), Haryana and Kerala has announced that its 'Grameen Phone Sewa' initiative aimed at providing connectivity to the rural masses has successfully completed one year of operation. The scheme has generated an overwhelming response with over 450 villages of UP (West) and Haryana being covered by this service. 

Building on its vision of a socially responsible corporate, and in keeping with the Escorts Group initiatives in rural India, Escotel provided the service at highly subsidized rates for both handsets and airtime charges. 30 per cent and the airtime rate subsidize the initial package of handset and connection by 50 per cent. For long distance calls within the circle, no additional long distance charges are levied making it cheaper than even a landline phone. The operator charges a margin of Rs.3 to Rs.5 per call on the actual cost of the call. 

Each local entrepreneur owns and operates a cellular phone that typically serves an entire village plus surrounding kasbaas. Each village phone caters to the needs of an average of 5,000 people around the village. This means that the Grameen Phone Sewa is already providing access to 2.25 million people in the rural areas and is expected to benefit many more in the future. The local operator is selected on the recommendation of the village sarpanch. The task is preferably given to a physically challenged person, ex-servicemen, war widow and unemployed educated youth. 

Rajiv Burman, Chief Officer, Customer Acquisition and Retention, Escotel, said, "Our effort towards promoting a social cause has been a great success. We have been inspired in our endeavor by the Grameen phone service of Bangladesh and their success at the grass root level. While Bangladesh's Grameen phone utilized the Grameen Bank to reduce the distribution costs and provide micro-credit for buying the phone, Escotel did not have any such advantage. By directly subsidizing the cost Escotel has brought the cellular phone within reach of the rural population and has installed over 450 Grameen Phones within a year. The Government has been very supportive and the Union Minister for Communications, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan has even publicly lauded our efforts." 

Escotel Mobile Communications Ltd. is a joint venture of Escorts Limited, one of the leading industrial houses in India, and First Pacific Company Limited of Hong Kong. Escorts Limited holds 51% stake in Escotel, while First Pacific holds the balance 49%. 

Escotel Grameen Phone Sewa 

Key Features 

· Provides mobile telephony in remote isolated villages. 

• Availability to rural people who normally cannot afford to have a personal connection. 

• Subsidized connection. 

• Handset & connection subsidized by Escotel to the tune of 30%. 

• Escotel subsidizes airtime by 50%. 

• Income generating tool for PCO Operator's. 

Benefits to the Villagers: 

• Substitutes a trip to neighboring towns which is more time consuming and costly. 

• Better rates for their produce. 

• Be in touch with family members working anywhere in India or the World. 

• Can obtain urgent medical help 

• Tremendous economic & social impact. 

• Local government administration can stay in instant touch with remote areas.