Verizon is the fourth international player in the Indian telecom market. AT&T, BT, and Cable & Wireless (C&W) are the other players. AT&T was awarded the NLD and ILD license in 2006 followed by BT, who received the license in December 2006.
Verizon currently offers services through local licensed carriers in India. It aims to continue its existing relationship with these service partners to complement its IP communications portfolio to which companies will have direct access.
Verizon Business India, a 74:26 joint venture with Leo Communications, already holds ISP license in India and has multiple local IP hubs. Verizon Business India plans to offer services to multinational customers, including international private-leased circuits with multi protocol label switching (MPLS) and Internet protocol services. It also plans to launch IP and data network facilities in Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai, and Hyderabad in 2008.
India is a strategic market for many of our multinational customers, and our application for these licenses is part of our continued investment in global infrastructure, said John Killian, president at Verizon Business.
Since the Indian government’s opening-up of the long distance sector in December 2005, over 25 applications for NLD and ILD licenses have been received. Verizon had applied for the NLD and ILD licenses in February, 2007 following its announcement of participating in the building of the Pacific undersea cable with five other telecom players.
According to Telecommunications magazine, India’s mobile penetration is currently 20% and the market is growing by approximately 7 million mobile subscriber net additions per month. AT&T announced its plans to separate India from its Asia Pacific operations to focus on the growing Indian telecom market.
Source: ComputerWire daily updates
