Two of the country's biggest business moguls could come together to set up a digital infrastructure in the country. Reliance Industries Ltd chairman Mukesh Ambani has said that he is open to joining hands with telecom giant Bharti Airtel for improving telecom network for 4G services in Punjab.
"Punjabis are the brand ambassadors of India. We are present in Punjab in manufacturing, retail. We are also rolling out our first digital infrastructure for 4G in the state with an investment of about Rs 2,500 crore," Ambani said at the Progressive Punjab Summit in Mohali on Monday.
"For further enhancing the digital experience, we can have a collaborative partnership with our friend Mr Mittal," Ambani further said. Reliance Jio Infocomm is the only company which has pan-India airwaves that can be used for 4G services. In April, Reliance Jio and Airtel joined hands to share capacity of a submarine cable.
"We are working towards making Punjab a digital technology hub in the near future. We also have large retail presence in the state, and also as part of our CSR (corporate social responsibility) initiative, our Bharti Foundation is working in 80 villages educating close to 13,000 children," Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman, Bharti Group, said.
Ambani added that his company would look forward to forge a partnership with Airtel. "We look forward to Sunil and me for a partnership to serve people and build infrastructure." Meanwhile, Airtel signed an initial agreement with the Punjab government committing an investment of Rs 4,000 crore towards building digital infrastructure for 4G services.