Bharti, SingTel tie up for submarine optical cable network

CHENNAI: Bharti, India's leading telecom conglomerate, in association with

Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel), has formed a 50:50 joint venture

company, Network i2i, India's first private submarine cable company.

The firm will build and operate a submarine optical fiber cable ring network

linking Singapore, Chennai and Mumbai with a design capacity of 8.4 Tbps at a

cost of $650 million. The i2i network will provide bandwidth to a wide array of

consumers such as ISPs, call centers, data centers, international voice and data

operations, and software companies at competitive prices.

The first phase of the network, which is internally funded and estimated to

cost about $250 million, will link Singapore and Chennai with the landing

station in Chennai. Work on the 3,200km long Singapore-Chennai leg of the

network has already begun and is expected to complete by the year-end. Nearly Rs

100-150 crore has been disbursed for the cable station in Chennai.

With the second phase of the 10,800km-ring network linking Singapore with

Mumbai expected to be completed by the middle of next year, commercial traffic

will commence by the 2002. Bharti Aquanet, another 51:49 per cent joint venture

between Bharti and SingTel, will manage and operate the cable stations and

market its services in India.

Bharti Telesonic, the third joint venture between Bharti and SingTel has

already commenced operations for laying down the terrestrial links from Chennai

to Mumbai, which is expected to end by July 2001. After completion of the i2i

network, it will be linked to SingTel's extensive cable network including C2C,

SEA-ME_WE 3 and APCN 2.

"India will now be able to fulfil the demand for enhanced bandwidth in

the subcontinent, triggering a southward revision of prices. Ultimately, we will

have to carry the capacity of the Singapore-Chennai-Mumbai network to other

cities and towns in India. For this, Bharti telesonic has already routed

10,000km of fiber optic cables in the country. Another 45,000km will be covered

in the next two years. The i2i network will also support Bharti's Domestic Long

Distance Service," said Bharti Enterprises corporate director Viresh Dayal.

"A submarine optical fiber cable network will spearhead new business

opportunities and a never-before city-to-city bandwidth connectivity for India.

With its huge population, India has the potential for more than one submarine

cable networks," said SingTel vice president Hoh Wing Chee.