Interview: Tata to Bring IP Services to East Africa via SEACOM Undersea Cable

TMCnet – on our international sites for Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Australia – often reports statistical information about emerging markets for technologies such as WiFi (News - Alert), broadband connectivity and telepresence.

 

This month alone, for example, news has been published to the sites about predictions for rapidly expanding VoIP lines in Europe, China’s foray into 3G networks, and a Mexico-based mobile phone company’s purchase of a South African mobile solutions firm.

 

Of course, behind all of those reports and business dealings – though it’s often far less appealing to casual readers – is a complicated technological infrastructure.

 

One of the companies – perhaps, the company – most experienced in developing that kind of infrastructure is Tata Communications, an international communications provider with headquarters in Mumbai, India.

 

With massive cable operations linking continents, the company has one of the largest undersea global footprints in the world. Tata Communications recently launched a system that connects Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Japan, and adds that network to similar lines in the Pacific, Atlantic and Eurasian markets.

 

Here’s a snap shot of the company’s impressive network:

 

 

Now, TMCnet learns, Tata Communications has earned the right to serve as anchor tenant on an undersea fiber-optic cable that’s 9,320 miles long and is poised to connect much of the east African coast.

 

Partly funded by nations along the coast (the cable itself is about three-quarters African-owned), the Sea Cable System, or “SEACOM (News - Alert),” is worth about $650 million.

 

SEACOM’s cable has been laid from the edge of the South African waters to Mozambique, as well as in the Red Sea from Egypt towards the coast of Yemen – and a third ship last month was being loaded with the rest of the deepwater cable, which will run from India toward Africa, where the three segments will be joined.

 

It’s a massive project, and presented us with a good opportunity to talk to Tata Communications about its work.

 

In an interview – printed in full below – with Don Schuett, Tata Communications' director of product management in transmission services, we learned that prior to SEACOM, many of the African nations were forced to rely on limited, expensive satellite services alone for their international connectivity needs.

 

Schuett – who for more than a decade has held product and engineering roles in the telecom and technology industries, including with Level 3 Communications – tells us that SEACOM will change east Africans’ lives drastically by bringing lower cost and higher bandwidth IP and transmission services to their nations.

 

“In addition, the SEACOM system has really been a catalyst for these countries to accelerate metro network build-out and expansion of their access technologies like WiMAX (News - Alert),” Schuett tells us, “so that there is infrastructure able to deliver this SEACOM capacity to the end-user.”

 

Our exchange follows.

 

 

Don Schuett (pictured left): Tata Communications (News - Alert) is playing multiple roles with regards to the SEACOM cable system. First of all, as an anchor customer, Tata Communications is obtaining a significant amount of capacity that will be used to provide wide range of transmission and IP-based services between Africa, Europe, and India.

 

Secondly, because Tata Communications is the landing party in Mumbai India and sister company Neotel (News - Alert) is the landing party in South Africa, there will be seamless interconnection between the SEACOM system and the rest of our global network.

 

Lastly, because of our expertise in cable operations, our subsidiary Tata Communications Transformation Services is providing the network administration, operations and maintenance of the cable.

 

 

DS: With Tata Communication’s SEACOM capacity, global reach, and investment in Neotel, the second national operator in South Africa, we are the only provider that can offer true end-to-end solutions for businesses requiring connectivity to Africa from Asia, Europe, and North America. The demand is there and continues to grow, but has been stifled by either a lack of international capacity or high pricing by the incumbent provider. Tata Communications with SEACOM are able to eliminate both of those issues.

 

 

DS: Tata Communications will continue to be involved in various cable projects in the Africa region as well as other parts of the world.

 

In addition to the recently announced launch of TGN-Intra Asia, our new system connecting Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Japan, Tata Communications will launch TGN-Eurasia connecting India to Europe around the same time as SEACOM. Tata Communications also has a large investment in IMEWE to address the huge demand for connectivity between India and Europe and North America.

 

Lastly, other third-party cable projects will continue to take advantage of Tata Communication’s world-class cable stations and onward connectivity with our global footprint.

 

 

DS: Tata Communications currently owns and manages one of the largest undersea global footprints including the cable systems TGN-Pacific, TGN-Atlantic, Tata Indicom Cable, and recently launched TGN-Intra-Asia. Coupled with the investments in other consortium and private systems as well as the terrestrial networks, Tata Communications is an industry leader in terms of managing networks that span multiple countries and continents. A great example of this is TGN-Pacific, the largest undersea cable system in terms of lit capacity and also one of the longest systems in terms of its reach from Japan to Portland and California.

 

 

DS: Prior to SEACOM, many of these countries relied solely on limited and expensive satellite services for their international connectivity needs. This will change drastically when this cable is complete and Tata Communications begins providing lower cost and higher bandwidth IP and transmission services into these markets. In addition, the SEACOM system has really been a catalyst for these countries to accelerate metro network build-out and expansion of their access technologies like Wimax, so that there is infrastructure able to deliver this SEACOM capacity to the end-user. This will result in lower costs to the consumer, an increase in service quality, and roll-out of more broadband and mobile technology options.