Australian telecom Telstra said Tuesday that its joint venture with Bangalore-based Microland, Telstra Telecommunications Private Ltd., has been awarded three new licenses to provide international and national long-distance telecommunications and ISP services in India.
The new licenses will see Telstra International begin offering services in seven cities — Bangalore, Calcutta, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune — within the next six months, the companies said, providing customers a flexible, resilient, cost-effective network that is tailored to suit individual business needs.
Mumbai and Chennai will serve as Telstra’s Indian gateways connecting to its international backbone network, which will provide customers with direct routes into networks in Europe and Asia, the company said.
In a news release, Telstra said that “aside from local contract billing capabilities, customers can also benefit from Telstra’s suite of connectivity and managed services, and enhanced in-country service centre support.”
“The licenses will enable Telstra International to support the inflow of businesses setting up operations in India as well as local companies expanding into emerging markets by giving them access to Telstra’s robust and resilient connectivity in Asia and globally,” said Tarek Robbiati, group managing director for Telstra International Group.
“Telstra International operates one of the largest and most diverse networks in Asia Pacific. 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.
Robbiati also said that the announcement demonstrates Telstra’s ongoing commitment to invest in India, in addition to expanding the suite of services to customers seeking global reach to address their growth plans.