Reliance Communications has stated that its plans to self-finance its recently-announced, state-of-the-art express cable network which will extend from India via Thailand to Hong Kong and from India across the Middle East to Italy. The vision is to create a Next-Generation IP and Cloud environment across the emerging markets corridor that encompasses the Middle East into Europe, as well as the large economies of China, India and Indonesia.
The Eagle cable system, targeted for completion by the end of 2020, will be four/six fiber pair systems, with an initial design capacity of 12-24Tbps per fiber pair, using Next-Generation Coherent Submarine Fiber.
Reliance Comm's Global Cloud Xchange (GCX) has also entered into key partnerships to expand its Cloud ecosystem and data center footprint, further solidifying India’s position as a key global hub with a strategic edge in the next wave of technology growth and expansion across emerging markets.
GCX owns the world’s largest private undersea cable system spanning more than 67,000 route km which, seamlessly integrated with Reliance Communications’ 200,000 route km of domestic optic fiber backbone, provides a robust Global Service Delivery Platform.
“The Cloud and Fiber initiative is our response to the key requirements in the global marketplace, driven by the explosive growth in Cloud and infrastructure programs by enterprises around the world,” said Bill Barney, CEO of Reliance Communications & Chairman/CEO, Global Cloud Xchange. “Nearly half of the world’s population is reachable with a short distance from India’s borders, giving the country a strategic edge in the new Digital Era. This initiative levels the playing field for India’s companies to compete globally.”
Earlier this month, Reliance Jio Infocomm, the fastest growing mobile operator in the world and which is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, agreed to acquire specified assets of Reliance Communications Limited and its affiliates.
The sale includes assets under four categories – Towers, Optic Fiber Cable Network, Spectrum and Media Convergence Nodes, specifically:
- 122.4 MHz of 4G Spectrum in the 800/900/1800/2100 MHz bands
- Over 43,000 towers, amongst the top 3 independent tower holdings in India
- ~ 1,78,000 RKM of fiber with pan India footprint
- 248 Media Convergence Nodes, covering ~5 Million sqft used for hosting telecom infrastructure
The deal was valued at US$$3.77 billion, according to media reports
