VSNL (Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd.), India's primary international phone company, recently announced that the company, SEACOM (Sea Cable Network), and Telecom Egypt have reached an agreement to construct a US$250 million undersea fiber optic network. Codenamed TGN (Tyco Global Network) Eurasia, the network is based on the existing TGN that the company bought from Tyco International, as reported in Asia Express dated November 3, 2004.

Connecting Mumbai with Paris, London, and Madrid via Egypt, the new cable system is expected to provide VSNL with 1.28 terabit of new capacity upon the completion of construction, which is scheduled for the first half of 2009, according to a press release by VSNL. The company stated that the new cable system will also offer options for future connectivity across the Gulf region.

 

On October 31, 2007, the company also announced a plan to invest US$200 million in building another undersea cable system, the TGN-Intra Asia. The TGN-Intra Asia cable is currently under construction by US-based Tyco Telecommunications, and is slated for completion by June 2008.

 

In addition to the TGN-Intra Asia and TGN-Eurasia cable networks, VSNL also owns the TGN Atlantic and TGN-TIC (Tata Indicom Cable System) cable systems, offering seamless connectivity between India, South East Asia, South Africa, Western Europe and the United States. To date, VSNL's entire cable systems - including both terrestrial and undersea cable systems - spans over 206,356 route kilometers worldwide.