Kolkata (PTI): Reliance Communications Limited on Friday launched a rural telephone scheme in West Bengal covering 56 lakh people in the state.

The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group company will provide telephone connections to 5,433 villages and offer scheme for prepaid fixed wireless phones.

The plan is being rolled out under the Universal Service Obligation Fund of the Department of Telecommunications which aims at improving the rural connectivity.

The villagers will start getting the benefit from March 2008, under which 9 lakh households in four districts will be covered, an RCom spokesperson said.