Network i2i, the undersea cable system jointly owned by Bharti Tele-Ventures and Singapore Telecom, announced on Thursday the launch of its international data services.

The 3,200 km cable network between Chennai and Singapore was carrying only voice traffic since it began operations last year.

The company is planning to capture over 50 per cent share of the Rs 1,500 crore (Rs 15 billion) international data services market in the next one year. This market is currently dominated by Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd.

Bharti has already signed up Oracle, Microsoft, Citibank, Visa and J P Morgan as its customers and is in advanced stages of negotiations with various infotech and infotech-enabled services companies.

Ashok Juneja, chief executive officer, Bharti Data & Broadband Group, said, "The cable will support a bandwidth of up to 8.4 terra bits per second, even as the total bandwidth available in the country is only 10 giga bits. The new cable system will widen the market and cater for a large pent-up demand."

The cable is targeting large business process outsourcing companies, Internet service providers, the infotech-enabled services segment and small and medium enterprises.

The cable system lands in Chennai in India and Tuas in Singapore where it gets connected with Singtel's worldwide undersea cable infrastructure. It can support 300 million Internet connections simultaneously.

Meanwhile, Bharti has joined a consortium promoting a new cable network called the Se-Me-We 4.

The move was in lieu of a cable system that was supposed to connect Singapore with Mumbai in the second phase of Network i2i.

This was later put on hold owing to a glut in bandwidth market.

Badri Agarwal, president, Bharti Infotel Leaders, said, "We have no plans of reviving the second phase of Network i2i. We feel that 8.4 terra bits per second capacity is enough to cater for India's bandwidth requirement for the next 10-15 years."

Looking for more

• Network i2i is planning to capture over 50 per cent share of the Rs 1,500 crore international data services market in the next one year.
• Bharti has already signed up Oracle, Microsoft, Citibank, Visa and J P Morgan as its customers and is in advanced stages of negotiations with various infotech and infotech-enabled services companies.
• The channel, which may have a footprint all over the country, will not entertain any content (not even advertising) that does not conform to Indian traditions.
• The channel is expected to disseminate information about various government schemes to farmers country-wide.