NTT Communications to seek long-distance licence

Japan's NTT Communications expects to invest about Rs1,000 crore over the next three years in India as the company is applying for a national long-distance licence and expanding its data centre business, the firm's president and chief executive Tetsuya Shoji said.

"We are looking to cater to Indian demand. We have invested ¥20 billion (Rs1,079 crore) in three years and we see a similar investment horizon going forward," he told The Economic Times.

The company is applying for a long-distance licence to interconnect its data centres and client locations with optical fibre cables, he said. There were no synergistic assets available to be bought in the market.

There are companies such as Tulip Telecom that ran optic fibre to service corporate customers' internet connectivity, and are now stressed assets. However, Shoji said none made a good fit for NTT. While the company may opt to lease some unused optic fibre cables, it is not looking at an acquisition at the moment.

In Japan, the company observed a fall in voice consumption on its networks by a third, being replaced by data consumption, leading to a realignment of focus, he said, implying that the same will be true for Indian operators.