Indian operator Bharti Airtel and China Telecom have lit up an underground terrestrial fiber network linking the two countries and creating India’s third international gateway.
The 40-Gbps link, which runs across the Nathula border between Siliguri and Yadong, was constructed by both carriers within their respective territories, and promises customers transiting India or China to reach global destinations the shortest route between the two countries.
The link also provides Bharti’s Indian customers with a third option for international connectivity and an alternative to its existing submarine cable connections in Chennai and Mumbai.
Neither carrier revealed the amount of money invested in the network’s construction.
Bharti Airtel and China Telecom also signed an MoU to develop a Network to Network Interconnect (NNI) that allows seamless access to the combined regional and global network resources of both the operators.
Ajay Chitkara, CEO of Bharti Airtel’s Global Data Business said the India-China network will address the surging international Internet traffic and diversity requirements of both markets.
“The current economic boom in India and China has triggered a huge demand from global as well as domestic customers for connectivity in these nations,” Chitkara said in a statement.