Pacnet on Wednesday announced the launch of its international gateway in Chennai, enabling the delivery of its full suite of robust, high-speed international connectivity solutions to meet India's growing demand for bandwidth. The global telecom service provider also plans to invest up to $150 million in the next two to three years to set up a data centre in India.
“The launch of our international gateway is part of our plan to build our local presence and support India's growth through the delivery of enhanced international connectivity and hosting solutions across the country,” Pacnet Chief Executive Officer Bill Barney told journalists here.
The new international gateway, for which Pacnet has tied up with Bharti Airtel that connects to the U.S., would enable businesses in India with access to high-speed international broadband connectivity and a full suite of advanced communication solutions, he added. Pacnet, through its joint venture Pacific Internet India, currently operates points of presence (PoPs) in cities like Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad.
Stating that Pacnet has already invested around $150 million so far in various operations in India, Mr. Barney said: “We are looking at setting up a data centre in the region in the next two years. This would entail an investment of up to $50 million…we are exploring cities like Chennai, Mumbai and Bangalore for setting up the centre”. In January 2010, Pacnet India obtained its National Long Distance (NLD) and International Long Distance (ILD) licences from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and has also obtained full security clearance from DoT. This complements its Internet Service Provider (ISP) Class A licence, which allows Pacnet India to offer a full suite of Internet connectivity solutions, as well as a range of managed and hosted services in India.
