Tata Communications Internet Services Limited and Tomizone have announced a partnership deal by which TCISL will use Tomizone proprietary software to usher in a Wi-Fi revolution in India. Auckland headquartered Tomizone is a leading Wi-Fi hotspot and metro Wi-Fi zone solutions provider across Australia, China, India and New Zealand.
“There is a need for higher penetration of Wi-Fi hotspots where laptop and Wi-Fi enabled device users can connect to the internet. Currently there are less than 1000 Wi-Fi hotspots in India with Tata Indicom Wi-Fi having a share of over 50 per cent. As a result of this partnership, the number of such hotspots can grow manifold in a much shorter time and also give retail consumers to take part in this exciting new business opportunity.” Prateek Pashine, COO, TCISL said
He further added, “The association with Tomizone will help in expanding the Wi-Fi footprint in India enabling any Tata Indicom Broadband customer to set up a Wi-Fi hotspot and the software and user authentication systems have been designed in line with the Wi-Fi security guidelines mandated by the DoT”.
The partnership would allow Tata Indicom broadband customers to set up Wi-Fi hotspots at their premises instantly. Besides his or her personal usage, the customer will also get an opportunity to utilize their unused bandwidth by offering it to others, say neighbors. In return, they will get credit (of internet surfing time) on their account, thus subsidizing the cost of their Broadband connection.
India has among the lowest penetration of broadband in the world at about 0.6 per cent with 6.62 million subscribers as on June 2009. India is expected to take a leap in penetration with a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and IMRB Broadband Report forecasting 214 million subscribers by 2014. The partnership with Tomizone is a step in bridging the gap in broadband penetration in India.
Tomizone offers its customers’ low cost Wi-Fi Internet access through an interconnected network using the best built for purpose Wi-Fi Hotspot authentication and management system available, which will help in increasing Broadband penetration in any country. Tomizone has powered similar deployments in other countries such as Australia, New Zealand and China. A similar type of partnership in UK, helped increase the number of hotspots to over half a million in the country giving an indication of the accelerated growth such associations can fuel.
Mr Prateek Pashine further added, “Today TCISL is already the largest Wi-Fi player in the country. And with this association, we will usher in a Wi-Fi revolution that can potentially create thousands of hotspots and enable lakhs of users to access blistering internet on Wi-Fi technology in a far more ubiquitous manner than today.
Mr Girish Hiremath, Country Head of Tomizone India, welcomed the partnership with TCISL and heralded it as a smart cooperation model whereby both companies can deploy their unique strengths to quicken the availability of ubiquitous Wi-Fi coverage that is easy to use and affordable in India.
About Tata Communications
Tata Communications is a leading global provider of a new world of communications. With a leadership position in emerging markets, Tata Communications leverages its advanced solutions capabilities and domain expertise across its global and pan-India network to deliver managed solutions to multi-national enterprises, service providers and Indian consumers.
The Tata Global Network includes one of the most advanced and largest submarine cable networks, a Tier-1 IP network, with connectivity to more than 200 countries across 400 PoPs, and nearly 1 million square feet of data center and collocation space worldwide.
Tata Communications’ depth and breadth of reach in emerging markets includes leadership in Indian enterprise data services, leadership in global international voice, and strategic investments in operators in South Africa (Neotel), Sri Lanka (Tata Communications Lanka Limited), Nepal (United Telecom Limited), and subject to approval by the Chinese government, China (China Enterprise Communications).
Tata Communications Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India and its ADRs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. (NYSE: TCL)
www.tatacommunications.com
About Tomizone:
Tomizone offers enterprise-class authentication and billing solutions and rapid network growth for any wireless network or operator, anywhere. Tomizone solutions are delivered by its cloud-based Software as a Service Platform driving Tomizone enabled Wi-Fi Hotspots and Zones, for private and public sector customers including telcos, ISPs, SMEs, retail chains, individuals and cities. Tomizone is the largest provider of Wi-Fi hotspots in Australasia. There are over 17,000 such hotspots and zones in Australasia, along with a growing network in India. Tomizone provide roaming services to over 2,000 China Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspots in China and are also members of the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA).
Tomizone is a global company, headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand with offices in Sydney, Bangalore and Beijing.
