AT&T announces direct entry into India

BANGALORE: AT&T Inc. today announced its foray into the Indian market with the launch of its new business.

Last month the company became the first international telecom operator to secure International Long distance (ILD) and National Long Distance (NLD) under the government’s revised policy on FDI.

AT&T Global Network Services India (AT&T India), a joint venture between AT&T and Mahindra Telecom Investment Private Ltd, plans to transition its existing customers in India to its network and also introduce a broader range of advanced networking services and solutions.

Mahindra holds 26 per cent equity of the newly licensed company while AT&T owns the rest of the stake.

Until recently, the company had a tie-up with VSNL in India. AT&T offers Multiprotocol Label Switched (MPLS) -based Virtual Private Network (VPN) services to around 350 customers in India. Its client base consists of MNCs and also Indian MNC enterprises. Around 70 per cent of AT&T’s business in India is from foreign MNCs. “We have seen our revenues grow 40 per cent in the first nine months of this year,” said John Finnegan, senior vice president, AT&T Global Sales.

The company hopes to become operational by the year-end and transition its customers to its network by January 2007. Some of the company’s customers in India include Bank of India, IBM, and TCS.

“India along with China and Brazil is one of the countries where AT&T is making critical investments,” said Sanjiv Bhagat, MD and CEO, AT&T Global Network Services India.

With the telecom field being cleared for foreign players, India could see more international players including the likes of Cable &Wireless and Orange competing against AT&T.

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