It looks like Reliance Industries (RIL) is planning to roll out its much awaited 4G service in Mumbai and Delhi in mid 2013, according to an Economic Times report. How RIL Is Setting It Up Tie-ups: As per the report, RIL has inked contracts with Ericsson and Samsung to build the network, IBM for IT integration and Microsoft for security solutions. RIL has also apparently started laying optical fibre cable network in Mumbai and Delhi and has inked a contract with Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd (HFCL) for this purpose, which in turn has tied up with companies like Alcatel Lucent and and Infinera. It also added that RIL-subsidiary Rancore Technlogies was in charge of conducting 4G trials. MiFi Devices: The report also mentions RIL's plans to launch MiFi devices which will convert the 4G signal to a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot, allowing users to access 4G speeds across various Internet enabled devices on the go. This strategy makes sense since that 4G-compatible handsets and tablets which support India's 4G network aren't available in the market yet. Airtel had also offered multi-mode USB dongles and a Indoor Wireless gateway, when it launched its 4G service last April. Who Is Heading It? Earlier this month, Ajit Nazre, a former partner with the venture fund Kliener Perkins Caufield and Byers (KPCB), and Arvind Rao, former CEO of mobile VAS company OnMobile Global, had joined Reliance Industries in an advisory capacity for the company's 4G rollout. While both Nazre and Rao had separately confirmed this development to MediaNama, they had declined to comment on the…
