AT&T Inaugurates New India Business Operation
Company to serve enterprise market through corporate enterprise telecommunications services
RELEASE DATE : Monday, November 06 2006
AT&T Global Network Services India (AT&T India), a joint venture between AT&T Inc. and Mahindra Telecommunications Investment Private Ltd, announced the inauguration of its new business at a press conference today. AT&T recently became the first foreign telecom operator to secure a new telecommunications licence under the Indian Government’s revised policy on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) allowing up to 74% foreign ownership, which was enacted in November 2005.
“We were honoured to become the first foreign telecom operator in India to be granted a new business license last month and excited to be here inaugurating our new business just three weeks later,” said John Finnegan, senior vice president AT&T Global Sales.
“India is one of the fastest growing and most exciting telecom markets in the world – it is where our key multinational customers have told us they need to be. While AT&T has already been operating a successful India business for over six years in partnership with VSNL, this new telecom licence will enable us to further strengthen our commitment to our global customers wishing to operate here. We look forward to introducing an even broader range of advanced networking services and solutions more rapidly, and fully integrating India into AT&T’s global network that now serves 97% of the world’s economy.”
Speaking at the business inauguration event today, Virgil Palmer, chairman of the AT&T Asia Pacific Regional Advisory Council and head of Global IT Sourcing Management Office for international industrial gas giant Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. said that AT&T customers would benefit from greater simplicity and improved efficiency under the new arrangements.
“On behalf of the many large AT&T customers that I represent as chairman of the AT&T Asia Pacific Regional Advisory Council, we are extremely pleased that we can now work directly with AT&T. We are confident that it will lead to significant improvements in quality and reliability, as well as simplifying key areas such as negotiating, contracting and billing arrangements. India is a high priority market for just about every global MNC so I believe this will be a major factor in helping to attract further foreign investment and expansion into India.”
Noting AT&T's growing strength in the US and its expanding global presence, especially its unique position in serving the world's manufacturing and IT services centres, Mike Cansfield, research director of leading technology analyst firm, Ovum said, “This makes the new AT&T unique and so this is big news for the ICT sector.”
As part of the new business inauguration celebrations, AT&T is conducting a week-long roadshow with customer seminars and hospitality events in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi from November 6-10, 2006. The company is also running an extensive advertising campaign to coincide with the launch.
AT&T has been investing in the AT&T Global Network since 2001 and now has access to MPLS-based IP services in 137 countries around the world. As well as obtaining telecommunications licenses in key countries such as India and China, in 2006 AT&T will have installed additional network nodes in Malaysia, Vietnam, Pakistan, Cyprus, Dubai and Saudi Arabia and new network interconnections giving greater access penetration in Vietnam, Russia, the Nordics, Brazil, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
