Australian telecom major Telstra on Tuesday announced that it has been given licences to offer long-distance telephony and Internet services in India.
The company has formed a joint venture with Microland for the purpose. The new licences will see Telstra International begin with the provision of services in seven cities - Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune within the next six months. Telstra is targeting Indian and multinational corporates for its services.
Mumbai and Chennai will be Telstra's Indian international gateways connecting into its backbone network, which will provide customers with direct routes into networks in Europe and Asia.
Mr Tarek Robbiati, Group Managing Director for Telstra International Group (TIG), said the licences will enable Telstra International to support the inflow of businesses setting up operations in India as well as local companies expanding into emerging markets.
“This development reinforces our foothold as an Asian network specialist and communications service provider with offices and licences in 12 Asia-Pacific countries,” he said.
The enterprise communication space is already crowded with the likes of BT, AT&T, Cable & Wireless, and Orange Business present in the market. Indian operators, including Bharti Airtel, Tata Communications and Reliance Communications, are vying for the same market.