December 27, 2004: In the wake of the devastation caused by the “Tsunami” in the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Kerala, BPL Mobile, India’s leading Mobile Service Provider today announced a series of initiatives under the aegis of “Idayathilirundu” (which in Tamil means ‘from the heart’).  In an effort to reach out to the victims affected by the terror waves, BPL Mobile is offering monetary assistance through its employees and subscribers besides offering its network to ensure connectivity and communication support in the affected areas. In fact the BPL Mobile network was the only telecom network which ensured communication links in Karaikal immediately and since the disaster.

On the company’s part, every BPL Mobile team member across Mumbai, Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry has pledged a minimum of one day’s salary to the relief effort. The company is also initiating a public drive to mobilize funds by inviting our subscribers to offer assistance to the victims of the Tsunami by typing FUND (space) the amount and send it as an SMS to 666. BPL Mobile expects this gesture to spur more contributions from its subscribers and others.

BPL Mobile is also requesting its subscribers and citizens at large to donate relief material in the form of clothes, blankets etc for the displaced victims. The Idayathilirundu Collection Centres (ICC) are being opened at over two hundred BPL Mobile Galleries, Channel Partner Show Rooms and Select Retail outlets in the two states. The relief materials so collected will be handed over through the government and non-government organisations involved in the rescue operations to the needy people.

Commenting on the Idayathilirundu initiative, Mr. Mohamed Saleem, Chief Operating Officer (South), BPL Mobile said “As a leading telecom service provider in the affected states the Idayathilirundu is just a small offering to the affected citizens of the states. Backing the efforts of the organisation are team members who have come forward to contribute a portion of their salary. BPL Mobile joins the rest of the world in offering condolences to the bereaved families and we hope other corporates / individuals take our lead to come forward with aid and assistance.”

The company has already extended communication support and other assistance to the kith and kin of the victims.  A team comprising of BPL Mobile employees and channel partners are working at various affected locations. Mobile Phone booths have been set up and team members moving around with mobiles at various hospitals apart from mobilephone connections (SIM cards) given to the Local Administration and Police officials in these areas.

BPL Mobile’s robust network continued to remain operational while call traffic surged yesterday. The company ensured congestion free service by immediately re-distributing the network capacity in the affected areas.
 

“We have empowered our team members in the affected towns to offer all assistance to the Local Administration in responding effectively. Our team members and business associates have been in touch with the local administration and requests from officials for mobilephone connections (SIM cards) were acted upon promptly ensuring that our network came in handy at a time of immense crisis,” added Mr Suresh Kumar R, Chief Operating Officer –TN, BPL Mobile.

“Idayathilirundu” is an ongoing initiative by BPL Mobile to be socially relevant to the community it serves, by playing its role of a responsible Corporate citizen. Recently BPL Mobile had stepped in to support the victims of the Kumbakonam School fire tragedy by disbursing a sum of Rs. 26.45 lakhs mobilized through the Idayathilirundu initiative.

BPL Mobile is proud to be India's best mobile service in the latest nationwide survey conducted by International Data Corporation (IDC) across GSM  & CDMA service providers. Another recent report by AC Nielsen-ORG Marg published in The Economic Times Brand Equity has also rated BPL Mobile amongst the top admired and trusted telecom brands in the country.

Today, over 2.4 million subscribers across 209 cities, in the markets of Mumbai, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry & Goa enjoy India's best service through world-class technology and services and a network that gives Superior Coverage and Amazing Clarity. It has revolutionized the mobile communications industry in India with its state of the art technology, which includes the unique network design, the Qualnet, Camel Phase 2 Intelligent Network (IN) platform and GPRS providing cutting edge services like Multimedia Messaging  (MMS), mobile browsing, Java based mobile games amongst others. For more details, log on to www.bplmobile.com

For further information please contact:
Ram Subbramaniam
Masscom
Tel: 9842284411

Sanjay Nathani
BPL Mobile (Mumbai)
(0) 9821141000

Shuchi Mahuley
Hanmer & Partners, Mumbai
Tel: 022 – 56335969/ 9820684018