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Reliance To Launch Maps Portal - BIG Maps

You’re reading it here first: ContentSutra has learned from multiple sources that the Reliance ADA Group is working on a maps portal that they intend to launch within the next three months. There are around 8 people working on this project. The site will be called BIG Maps, and I just checked—that domain name has been registered by Nikhil Soman from Reliance Capital. More when we get more information on this.

ADA group company Reliance Communications does have maps of cities that they use for managing their tower and fibre-optic infrastructure, so that data can be used for maps. Apart from using this information for a portal, it could also be provided to Reliance Communications customers - remember MapMyIndia provides its map data to Airtel, Wayfinder and Yahoo. Others providing map information in India include Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Maps (harnessing data from users), Hyderabad based SatNav (in which BCCL has a stake) and CE Infosystems (funding from Nexus India Capital, KPCB and Sherpalo Ventures).

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Nov 6, 2007 7:05 AM ET

Posted In: Companies, ADAG

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Comments (14)

Nov 6, 2007 12:55 PM

Reliance seems to pushing into every sphere of the online world. But apart from online gaming all its products aren’t up to the mark. I don’t think BIG advertising for crappy products like BigAdda is going to drive traffic. If they’d spent all that advertising budget in developing something worthwhile it sure would have been a hit.

binny

Nov 7, 2007 12:05 AM

I agree with binny’s comment. But I think if we take a long term perspective.. I guess Reliance brand will prevail. Yes, I do think, for bigAdda it won’t make any difference, but for maps & such if they do a good job of scalability etc.. it might work.

But BIG thing in India is the usability engineering.. I think our sites are pretty poor in that.

Srinath

Nov 7, 2007 12:24 AM

If reliance integrates all its only products with a single login, they might attract sizable market

Sarathy

Nov 7, 2007 1:32 AM

I am very excited to notice the kind of attention being given to Indian Internet at the moment by Reliance. Slowly these companies will graduate and enter into the unfamiliar innovation and R&D;world. Till that time we have to suck up US products and open source products. Its probably fine. However who will wake up VSNL, BSNL et all to strengthen the broadband backbone of India. It still takes months to get broadband connection. It takes lesser amount of time to launch a new online product than to get broadband connection from BSNL.

Insightful

Nov 7, 2007 2:25 AM

A wrote a piece on my blog a couple months ago about how Reliance-ADAG has all the pieces to do something large (BIG shall we say), not so far no dice…

http://celestri.org/2007/08/16/reliances-missed-call/

manish jain

Nov 7, 2007 3:00 AM

Thatz a nice article manish,  Integrating zapak and bigada in reliance mobile with mobile social networking also will be good

Sarathy

Nov 7, 2007 3:42 AM

I agree that the reliance brand will prevail. But what I would love to see is the rise of an independent Internet company in India. Our track record thus far is very poor. Our biggest internet company is rediff which has a market cap of around $700 million. Compare that with China where at least 5 internet companies have market cap greater than $ 1 billion, eg Baidu, Alibaba. We have a long way to go.

binny

Nov 7, 2007 8:32 AM

Now reliance is going to hit the internet industry more powefully. i think they came up with a gr8 ideas like social networking and gaming partal and now Maps portal.

Ajay

Nov 7, 2007 9:52 PM

With all respect, for someone who starts a site with the word ‘cricket’ in it should refrain, nay, should not be even allowed to spew thoughts on anything, let alone on something as inane as a company that inspite of its huge resource reach can only go as far as to imitate the rest of the world.
-Irritated
P.S: And who are all these two penny blokes that agree that xyz company will/may/perhaps prevail -  Maybe I should have you all on board my fund?
P.P.S: Mr. Pahwa, anyway you can ensure only sensible comments posted up here?

Irritated

Nov 8, 2007 1:54 PM

I think that market is already crowded with Y!, Google and Microsoft Maps

UC33

Jan 14, 2008 5:59 AM

notice for own mobile call status

sunil kumar

Jul 5, 2008 7:29 AM

Nice Idea dude, but when you are planning to launch, i believe it almost 6 months gone you have announced it

siddesh

Sep 28, 2008 11:07 PM

can you inform us that

how many regeional news channels are upcoming in a shortwhie ??

MEHUL

Mar 6, 2009 11:29 AM

i think that ril has big network in this field. no need to advertise.  it will explore by people who r intrest in.

tahir

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