Bharti Airtel launches underground telecom link to China

Bharti Airtel today launched a direct underground link between India and China, in association with China Telecom, to offer ''robust network and seamless connectivity'' to its customers.

This will be the third international gateway established by the leading Indian telecommunications company from the sub-continent.

''This new high-speed link will provide unparalleled diversity to both East and West-bound traffic, ensuring business continuity and economic growth for both the nations,'' said Ajay Chitkara, CEO, global data business, Bharti Airtel. It will also offer the shortest alternate route between the two countries, alongside the existing sub-sea routes.

According to Chitkara, the launch of the link strengthens its commitment to create state-of-the-art network through innovation. The new terrestrial link connects two of the fastest-growing economies of the world, he added.

''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,'' points out Chitkara. ''The launch of the India-China link further strengthens our commitment of creating state of-the-art network for our customers through innovation.''

The 40 gbps network passes through tough terrain in both countries. In India, Bharti Airtel has built it from Siliguri to Nathula, the border check-post, while China Telecom has built it from Yadong to Nathula.

Bharti Airtel also signed a memorandum of understanding with its Chinese partner to develop network-to-network inter-connect (NNI) links, to facilitate seamless access to their regional and global network resources.