The Hindu Business Line : AT&T to invest more in India operations

New Delhi, March 5 Global telecom major AT&T today said it will increase its investment in India this year to expand its business including setting up of three additional nodes and an internet data centre in the country.

This is part of a $1billion global investment the company is planning outside the US in 2008. AT&T declined to reveal exact investment figures for India. With an 85 per cent year-on-year growth, India is the fastest growing market for AT&T.

The company was the first foreign player to get long distance licence and currently offers connectivity solutions to the enterprise market. AT&T is also keen to foray into the Indian mobile sector and has applied for pan-India licence.

For the enterprise segment, AT&T has already set up seven nodes in India and is adding three more in Delhi, Pune and Kolkata by the end of this year. Nodes enable the company to expand its reach and be more flexible in offering services. The US-based company would also set up an internet data centre in Bangalore.

Mr Sanjiv Bhagat, CEO and Managing Director, AT&T India, said that the company was evaluating the option of setting up a customer briefing centre in India for product demonstrations.

AT&T is also laying a new undersea fibre optic cable capacity from the US to Japan and Asia. This cable will be connected to India through other under seacables in the route. The company is also rolling out applications for corporates such as IP telephony, video conferencing and AT&T Connect which enables companies to get data, video and voice transmission in multiple locations simultaneously.

Competitive segment

Indian enterprise communications segment has become highly competitive with the entry of global telecom companies, including Orange Business, BT and Cable & Wireless. While AT&T and BT have already launched their services others including Verizon are in the process of obtaining Government clearances.

Orange Business has already got the permission from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board and is awaiting licence from the Department of Telecom. There are also Internet Service Providers including Tulip IT and Sify fighting for the same pie.

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