VSNL says undersea cable to make India telecom hub

NEW DELHI: Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL) said a submarine fiber optic

cable spanning three continents that was launched on Monday would help the

country become a hub for voice and data traffic.

The $650-million cable, which connects Europe with Asia and Africa, was

inaugurated in the Senegalese city of Dakar. It begins in the coastal city of

Sesimbra in Portugal, has 16 landing points, and touches the southern Indian

city of Cochin before ending at Penang in Malaysia.

The undersea link, which has been launched by an international consortium of

36 firms, has an estimated life span of 25 years and can carry 5.8 million

simultaneous telephone channels, the New York Stock Exchange-listed VSNL said in

a statement.

The 28,000-km (17,500-mile) long cable "will give India an immense

strategic advantage in becoming the hub for all voice and data traffic between

the Far East on one side and Europe and Africa on the other", the statement

said. VSNL, controlled by India's second-largest business conglomerate, the Tata

group, said it had "invested substantially" in the project, making it

one of the biggest stakeholders in the international consortium.