Reliance Communications has selected Telecom Infrastructure Company Ericsson for its new application store, Reliance App World. The store will offer a mix of free and paid applications enabling micro-billing, multiple downloads, user ratings, search options and will support all major mobile handsets.

Under the agreement with Reliance, Ericsson will be responsible for providing end-to-end services including Business Operations using the Software as a Service business model. It will provide services that are relevant to the consumers, while helping Reliance drive the data traffic in its network and increase its revenues. With the Ericsson Developer Program, Reliance will benefit from an ability to reach out to a community of application developers, focused on providing applications that cater specifically to their audiences.

Prashant Gokarn, Head – 3G, Reliance Communications, said: “Reliance App World is an endeavor to increase consumer delight by providing a mix of entertainment and utility services to our subscribers. Ericsson’s expertise and quality services are valuable to us for setting up a successful business in the application space.”

Fredrik Jejdling, Head of Engagement Practices, Ericsson India, said: “We are extremely happy to partner with Reliance to provide end-to-end services on the Reliance Application Store. Ericsson’s vision is to develop a self-thriving ecosystem of partners by bringing operators, application developers and subscribers into close reach of each other. As part of that initiative, we have set up an in-house device testing team to provide a differentiated service offering, ensuring the same experience across different devices. The application store will help Reliance to focus on customer satisfaction and delight factor, offering the required visibility and favorable consumer perception in the 3G space.”