Data Access to lay sea cable

 The total investment is estimated at $100 million. The undersea cable will have a bandwidth of over 8 terabits.

 Data Access Managing Director Siddharth Ray confirmed the move, and said a formal announcement was expected in a week. Construction was expected to begin in December, and the project would be completed in 12 months, Ray said.

 Explaining the need for another undersea cable, Ray pointed out that the group would require large bandwidth at its proposed software park in Bangalore.

 Data Access is scouting for partners for the proposed Rs 2,000 crore project, for which it has projected a demand of over 20 gigabits of bandwidth. Such large bandwidth was not available in India through existing undersea cables, he said.

 Besides, Data Access is one of the largest international long-distance operators in the country after Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd, and controls over 30 per cent of the international long-distance market in India.

 It will, therefore, require bandwidth for its international voice business, a bulk of which it is now transferring by leasing out satellite capacity.

 The deal comes close on the heels of the Reliance group buying international undersea cable giant Flag Telecom for $207 million. This 50,000 km undersea cable connects India to mid-east Europe, the US and the Far East, and still has some capacity available.

 But Data Access