RComm ties up with One Laptop Per Children Foundation

Mumbai, Oct 11 (UNI) Private telecom major Reliance Communications (RComm) today inked a deal with a social organisation to promote e-learing in schools.

Under the initiative, RComm would provide the internet connectivity, network backbone and logistical support to the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Foundation in India.

Tina Ambani, wife of Anil Ambani, today announced the launch of OLPC's first pilot project in India, where schoolchildren in a tribal village of Khairat will be provided with OLPC XO laptops, each priced at Rs 7,200. Leading global corporates like AMD, Google, MIT, Nortel and Red Hat have partnered in setting up the OLPC Foundation, backed by United Nations.

OLPC has already provided laptops to 5 mn schoolchildren across the world and aims to cover 150 mn schoolchildren by 2008.

After launching the project, Ms Ambani said ''The initiative is part of Reliance's endeavour to provide children in India with new opportunites to explore.'' RComm is already in talks with various state governments for the implmentation of the project.

UNI