MRTS is classified as a value-added service so customers using this require special handsets. The system can be operated over a distance of 30 km, though Hofintel, an MRTS operator in Chennai, has been successful in providing connectivity up to 70 km.

MRTS is like any other cellular service except that communication at any point is one way like a walkie-talkie. Only after one person finishes speaking can the other one begin. It is ideal for closed user-group facilities. It is superior to the regular wireless as it has got better bandwidth and prevents jamming of frequencies. It can also beused to transmit data.

While the system allows for interconnectivity with a regular land line, DoT has been turning a deaf ear to the MRTS association pleas, Hofintel director TV Ramaswamy said.

In other words, MRTS can be used only by members of an organisation and dialling into the outside world and into different systems is not allowed. This, while not giving the `value-added service' it is meant to, has proven to be a handicap for the service providers in terms of sales.

"Now that revenue sharing has been permitted as an option against the old system of licensing, we can also try to shout louder and ask for interconnectivity on a revenue-sharing basis," Satish Kappagantula, another Hofintel director, said. This could dramatically improve the fortunes of the industry from its current low base.

According to him, while the customer base has not grown in line with expectations, the company has not lost out on existing customers who "got hooked on to it".

The MRTS handset costs around Rs 20,000 andservice providers are willing to lease these equipment. The monthly call charges are fixed - Rs 1,000 for any number of calls and lesser still if the customer is a valued one or if the client takes up large number of connections on behalf of employees. It is ideal for use by ambulances and doctors even as a patient is being rushed to hospital, the state electricity officials for better communication during breakdowns, the transport sector, state milk cooperatives, port operations, corporates who have vendors and factories located in the peripherals of the city etc.

Interconnectivity with land lines and other systems can also be restricted, if need be, to the number of operators within a group.

The infrastructure cost is very low. A service provider needs to invest Rs 65 lakh to set up a tower which is good enough for a city. Though more towers can be constructed and range of connectivity increased to adjacent towns.

Even as the MRTS industry is awaiting the future with some trepidation, Hofintel (whichis the sole agent for Ericsson handsets in the country) is faring better in the consultancy and turnkey front, particularly overseas.