Reliance to provide wireless connectivity for SBI ATMs

State Bank of India (SBI) and Reliance Infocomm have tied up for CDMA
wireless connectivity for 100 ATMs across the country. This is the largest
migration of ATMs in wireless connectivity mode and marks an important milestone
in the banking and wireless communication fields.

The agreement follows the successful pilot installation of a few ATMs by SBI
using Reliance Infocomm’s wireless connectivity over the last four months. SBI,
on February 09, 2004, had deployed India’s first floating ATM in a ferry that
transports people and vehicles to Kochi from Vypeen, a nearby island using
Reliance Infoco-mm’s wireless connectivity.

"The CDMA-based Wireless connectivity solution enables quick deployment
of ATMs by banks, apart from the advan-tage of rolling out a nationwide network
of Wireless ATMs that are secure and cost efficient. Unlike VSAT-based
connectivity, which banks traditionally rely on, the CDMA solution elimina-tes
the need of rooftop rights and the resultant delays. Reli-ance Infocomm’s CDMA-based
Wireless connectivity scores over other ATM connectivity options on counts like
speed of deployment, mobility and cost," said an SBI official.

"We are proud to partner with the State Bank of India in bringing the
benefits of world class technology to India. With its decision to deploy
wireless ATMs across the country, the State Bank of India has emer-ged as the
leader in new gene-ration banking practices that takes advantage of the latest
developments in information and communication tech-nology. We hope to introduce
more such innovative solutions that will help Indian enterprises to offer world
class services to their customers" said Kishore Oka, Finance Vertical Head,
Reliance Infocomm.

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