Reliance Communications, China Telecom provide first terrestrial cable to directly connect China and India

HONG KONG: Reliance Communications and China Telecom have announced the opening of the first direct terrestrial cable link between the Chinese and Indian domestic markets.

The Reliance Communications and China Telecom constructed cable was the first cross border terrestrial connectivity project to be planned between India and China, and was completed earlier this month. The cable passes through the inhospitable terrain of the Nathula Pass, linking Yadong in China to Siliguri in India.

The cable will provide direct, enterprise class connectivity between all major Indian and Chinese locations as well as expanding high-bandwidth coverage to more rural regions and cities in both countries. Neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and even Pakistan and Bangladesh will also benefit in the longer term, through increased bandwidth availability and global termination options.

Reliance Globalcom, the global arm of Reliance Communications can now offer the additional protection of two separate cable routes between India and China with considerable less risk from natural disasters.

Both international businesses and consumers in the region will benefit from improved internet connectivity, lower latency and improved voice clarity calls. Previously, the only available option for high-bandwidth connectivity between the two countries was via undersea cable routes through Hong-Kong or Singapore.

The disruption to major international services in the region due to the recent typhoons and earthquakes has clearly exposed an associated risk with complete dependence on these cables. This new terrestrial link enables Reliance Globalcom to provide business critical service provision to its customers by offering dual cable route diversity between India and China for the first time.

“This announcement and cable connection is a landmark which represents many years of planning and hard work,” said Han YiHu, Managing Director of China Telecom. “We are very pleased with the increased dedicated bandwidth availability, connection speed and security this cable will provide to Chinese based enterprises and consumers. It will greatly assist our customers to become global industry leaders, while improving opportunities for international business development in both India and China.”

This new link increases the reach and diversity of Reliance Globalcom’s largest privately owned global cable network – by providing direct, dual cable route connectivity from emerging business locations within China to other international business hubs in Europe, Middle East and the East Coast US.

Similarly, Indian companies looking for connectivity to South East Asia, Japan and the West Coast US can now go via the terrestrial cable system to Hong Kong and then on a submarine route, enabling lower latency and improved network resilience.

“India and China represent the largest growing economies in the world, and the current global economic environment requires ever increasing high-bandwidth, converged applications to be run between these markets,” said Punit Garg, President, Reliance Communications.

“This new cable will help our customers across Asia and beyond to effectively compete on a global scale by providing increased network availability and secure connectivity from the world’s key business centres to these high growth markets. We are very pleased that Reliance Globalcom’s global network will play a major role in the development of international business opportunities in the region,” he added.