Having laid about 85,000 km of optical fibre network, Reliance Infocomm has started its broadband operations with the launch of Digital Electronic News Gathering service that enables TV channels to broadcast quality news video from a remote location to the studio directly.

"Various TV channels, including CNBC and Rajat Sharma-promoted India TV, are using our DENG service for broadcasting at a fraction of the cost compared to traditional methods of broadcasting," a Reliance spokesperson said in New Delhi.

When contacted, Rajat Sharma told PTI: "We have been conducting trial runs on Reliance's network for the last six months and since April 18 we are gathering news from over 60 centres.

"We have also used the DENG service for carrying out live interviews of political leaders sitting in our studios in various cities. It is a digital video and much cheaper than satellite," he added.

Sharma and Reliance officials, however, declined to comment on the comparative costs but said it was significantly cheaper.

Come May 20 and Sharma's India TV will turn into a 24 hour news channel. "We have tied up with Reliance Infocomm for using their network for the 24-hour channel," he added.