Tata Comm plans $2 bn expansion

To take virtual private network to China.

Tata Communications, formerly known as VSNL, is planning to invest $2 billion (Rs 8,000 cr) in the next three years for expansion of its infrastructure and services.

Speaking at a press conference in Kolkata, Srinivasa Addepalli, senior vice-president, corporate strategy, Tata Communications, said, "Half of the investment will go into submarine cables and network enhancement and the rest 50 per cent will be invested to roll out WiMax to cover 15 cities by 2009. Currently, WiMax services are available only in Bangalore."

The company is also expanding its global virtual private network (VPN) to China through a network-to-network interface (NNI) agreement with China Enterprise Netcom Corporation (China Entercom or CEC), a value-added telecommunication services and integrated IT solutions provider and subsidiary of China International Trust and Investment Corporation.

Through this NNI, Tata Communications and China Entercom have interconnected their respective multi-protocol label switching infrastructures, allowing Tata Communications' multinational corporation customers VPN connectivity reach beyond the existing 120 cities across the country and 19 major business centres across North America, Asia and Europe, which will now also include 347 cities across China.

Customers can also connect with dual point of presence (POP) locations in tier-I cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

Tata Communications' agreement with China Entercom would help Tata service global and India MNC customers, who require a single scalable VPN with reach into both India and China, said Addepalli.

The company is also looking at emerging economies in Asia including India, China, Africa, among other countries.

"As corporates look at growing economies for growth, Tata Communications will expand its services to these countries for enterprise business solutions," Addepalli added.

Tata Communications is the leading service provider, offering a Global VPN on-net solution with four classes of service options, which provide a deep and broad reach across the country as well as to major cities across the world.