VSNL picks Cisco for Rs 500 cr broadband deal

Tata group company Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd and global networking major Cisco Systems Inc on Tuesday signed a Rs 500 crore agreement to deploy broadband metro ethernet solution, that will offer broadband services at less than Rs 1,000 per month.

"This is the largest broadband metro ethernet deployment in India and will provide 10/100 mbps broadband connectivity," VSNL head, broadband business, Shashi Kalathil said.

Under the deal, Cisco would develop the network in six metros and two cities (Pune and Ahmedabad) in phases, while the services would be offered under Tata Indicom Broadband Services, he said.

The solution enables delivery of bundled services like voice over Internet Protocol, video-on-demand for residential customers and IP-based virtual private network and video conferencing services for enterprise customers, he said.

The network would provide triple-play services (voice, data and video) and would be able to connect over to a million customers, he added.

VSNL is planning to offer broadband access at less than Rs 1,000 per month initially and would later reduce it to Rs 400-500 a month, he said.

Cisco Systems India and SAARC president Rangnath Salgame said the metro Ethernet solution is based on Cisco 12000, 7600 ad 7300 series of routers and Cisco Catalyst 3750 and 2950 series. "The end-to-end IP solution delivers operational and capital cost savings to VSNL," he said.