Its $430 million investment will add to Tata Communications' already substancial connectivity in the Asia Pacific region.
(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — The world’s largest undersea cable operator and emerging communications giant, Tata Communications (www.tatacommunications.com) has announced a $430 million strategic investment plan in the Asia Pacific region, which will include a new $180 million Singapore data center, the completion of the main segment of its TGN-Intra Asia Cable System, and developing the Tata Communications Exchange.
According to Tata’s Thursday announcement, these latest investments are a key part of the company’s $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. The TGN features 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 colocation facilities worldwide.
According to an Associated Press report, Tata Communications president and chief operating officer Vinod Kumar said the company plans to invest $180 million in building a data storage center in Singapore, which will employ roughly 50 staff members when it’s operational in early 2010.The new data center will provide increased capacity for both domestic and international companies, and will be a key gateway to the APAC region.
“The Asian market continues to be promising, even in the current economic environment. Businesses need to capitalize on the opportunities this region provides, and investments in Asia are critical for the growth of global business,” Kumar said in a statement. “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.”
India-based Tata has also noted that it has completed the main segment of its $250 million, 6,700 km (roughly 4,200 mile) TGN-Intra Asia undersea cable system linking Japan and Singapore, with offshoots to Vietnam, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. Tata is partnering with Globe Telecom and EVN Telecom to expand its presence in the Philippines and Vietnam.
The Tata Communications Exchange is being developed in partnership with Mapletree Industrial Fund, an Asian industrial fund managed by Singapore-based Mapletree Industrial Fund Management (www.mapletree.com.sg).
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 is not alone in its focus on expanding communications services to and from the emerging APAC market. In September 2008, the WHIR interviewed web hosting provider Rackspace Hosting (www.rackspace.com) Jim Fagan, who was responsible for expanding the company’s operations into Asia with the opening of a new headquarters and data center in Hong Kong.
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