Tata Communications and Cisco to set up telepresence rooms at CII

New Delhi: Tata Communications and Cisco will set up telepresence rooms at four CII offices - New Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and  Hyderabad.

TelePresence is an innovative realistic virtual meeting solution that creates unique, "in-person" experiences allowing real-time, face-to-face communication over a converged IP network. It delivers life-size images, ultra-high-definition video, spatial audio and a specially designed environment to create a "room within a room" meeting space, thereby enabling effective global business and increased productivity while allowing for significant savings in travel time and costs.

Cisco will provide the telepresence equipment that creates life-like, in-person experiences between individuals, businesses, and events, over the network, while Tata Communications will provide the connectivity services that will link the four CII sites. The Cisco telepresence rooms at the CII facilities will be connected to the Tata Communications's planned international network of rooms in premier locations worldwide, enabling cost-effective and high definition video conference meetings for Indian enterprises with their partners in India and overseas, seamlessly.

This service, a first of its kind initiative in India will be available for CII members on a 'pay-per-use' basis.

Subodh Bhargava, chairman, Tata Communications, General ( Rtd.) S S Mehta, director general, CII, and Naresh Wadhwa, president and country manager, Cisco Systems ( India ) Pvt Ltd, signed the agreement at CII's National Conference and Annual Session 2008.

Finance minister, P Chidambaram was also present on the occassion along with Sunil Bharti Mittal, president, CII,  KV Kamath, vice president CII, and other dignitaries in CII's IVth Plenary Session with the finance minister.

Tata Communications Ltd consolidates  the $29-billion Tata  Group's telecommunications businesses combining the operations of VSNL, VSNL International, Teleglobe, Tata Indicom Enterprise Business Unit (TIEBU) and Cipris brands worldwide.