This programme runs under the guidelines of USOF (Universal Service Obligation Fund), stipulated by Department of Telecommunications.  A total of 90 lakh people living in over 10,000 villages in parts of Kodagu, Mandya, Tumkur, Hassan, Belgaum, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Udupi,and Dakshina Kannada districts are covered.   
Affordable charges
Gramada Phone is available with an offer of Rs 699 with a two-year free incoming service. And in order to make it attractive to first-time telephone users, call charges have been made affordable - with local call charges to fixed line and to any Reliance phone in Karnataka at 80 paise for three minutes, while calls made to other mobile phones will be charged at 80 paise per minute. 
Announcing this ambitious plan, Mr R Swaminathan, CEO - Karnataka & Andhra Circles, said,, "RDEL is a program intended to empower those rural areas which lack even a single phone line with voice connectivity, to enable them to take advantage of various economic opportunities.  We are planning to provide 2 lakh connections by March 31st  2008, and are trying to rope in village panchayats to achieve this DoT deadline."
Gramada Phones are available in villages through retailers and distributors. A gramada phone contains Patch-Panel-Antenna (PPA) which will be fixed at every household in these geographies, offering superior connectivity and voice clarity.
To make this programme popular in remote villages, the company is undertaking mass public announcements and demonstration campaigns.