Tata Communications plans $430 million investment in Asia Pacific

Tata Communications today announced a $430 million strategic investment plan in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, which will include developing the Tata Communications Exchange, a new world-class internet data center (IDC) and the completion of the main segment of its TGN-Intra Asia Cable System.

Tata Communications plans to set up data centres in Singapore, the UK, the US and South Africa, besides expanding its data centre network in India, a top company official said.

''We are setting up data centres in Singapore, the UK, the US and South Africa and expanding our existing data centres in India," Tata Communications senior corporate strategy vice-president Srinivasa Addepalli said on the sidelines of a conference.

These investments are a key part of the company's commitment to enhance its robust global infrastructure as part of its $2 billion expansion plan over three years.

''The Tata Communications Exchange and the TGN-Intra Asia Cable System are integral parts of the Tata Global Network (TGN) that includes one of the most advanced and largest submarine cable networks, a Tier-1 IP platform and more than 1 million square feet of data center and co-location facilities worldwide,'' the company said in a website release.

Tata Communications is expanding its capacity with the construction of a flagship data center, the Tata Communications Exchange in Singapore. It will be ready for operation in early 2010. The new data center will provide increased capacity for both domestic and international companies, allowing them to realise cost and resource efficiencies in addition to achieving greater service availability and performance.

The Singapore IDC is a key gateway location into the APAC region. Its integration into Tata Communications' high capacity Tier-1 network enables the company to meet current and future IT infrastructure service demands of its customers.

"The Asian market continues to be promising, even in the current economic environment. Businesses need to capitalise on the opportunities this region provides, and investments in Asia are critical for the growth of global business," said Vinod Kumar, president and chief operating officer for Tata Communications.

"Our large-scale investment in the Tata Communications Exchange, coupled with our submarine cable build-out, ensures scalability and global reach while delivering our commitment to meet customer requirements. We will continue to be an active leader in offering superior services into emerging regions where we see high growth potential and opportunities for customers," he added.

The Tata Communications Exchange is being developed in partnership with Mapletree Industrial Fund (a pan-Asian industrial fund managed by Mapletree Industrial Fund Management Pte Ltd (MIFM)). MIFM is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd, a leading Asian real estate and capital management company based in Singapore.

Building on Tata Communications' extensive global submarine cable and Tier-1 Internet Protocol (IP) network, the new data center will deliver co location, managed hosting, managed storage and value-added services.

Tata Communications also announced the completion of the main segment of its $250 million TGN-Intra Asia cable system. The multi-terabit system spans 6,700 km that connects Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines. It increases data and voice reliability by providing new route diversity for traffic generated throughout and into APAC.

As part of its focus on expanding communications services to and from emerging markets, Tata Communications is partnering with Globe Telecom and EVN Telecom to expand the TGN-Intra Asia Cable System into the Philippines and Vietnam respectively, the release added.