Deploys IP based Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) backbone network

·        MPLS technology gears up the IP backbone to support business applications by combining high-speed performance with security, scalability and reliability

·        Optimized use of bandwidth for voice, video and data on MPLS results in significantly lower cost of ownership for enterprises

• Intranet, Extranet & Internet-Multiple network services on a single link on MPLS

• Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) based high capacity fiber backbone, cable landing facilities for international bandwidth and now MPLS backbone – Unique value proposition for customers

·        Deployment of MPLS is yet another step by Bharti Infotel to consolidate its leadership position in the data & broadband business

Hyderabad, April, 2004: Bharti Infotel Ltd., India’s leading provider of access, long distance, data & corporate solutions has announced that it is working with Cisco for the provisioning of state-of-the-art services & solutions for its enterprise & corporate customers. Bharti Infotel has deployed the Internet Protocol (IP)-based Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) backbone network solution. Cisco is a pioneer and global leader in MPLS based technology & networking solutions.

MPLS is a hybrid networking technology that combines high-speed performance with security, scalability and reliability. It also helps in the provisioning of several revenue generating services like bandwidth on demand, managed services and intelligent routing of voice, data and other mission critical traffic. The deployment of MPLS is in keeping with Bharti Infotel’s strategy to further consolidate its leadership in the data & broadband market where the company has a market share of nearly 50%. With a Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) based high capacity fiber backbone, i2i cable-landing facilities for international bandwidth and now an MPLS backbone, Bharti Infotel offers a unique value proposition for its customers.

The Data & Broadband group of Bharti Infotel will be marketing these new revenue-generating services to enterprises, corporates and other service providers. With reduced cost of ownership for corporates and enterprises, Bharti expects more and more of them to connect their offices, vendors, partners and customers through the MPLS backbone, thereby increasing the overall market size for data services in India. The Data & Broadband group currently has the top 500 corporates in the country as its customers including corporates in the BPO, FMCG and media and entertainment sectors.

Speaking on the deployment, Mr. Badri Agarwal, President, Bharti Infotel Ltd. said, “With the advent of globalization, there is an incessant demand from Indian enterprises to access world class services such as VPN, bandwidth on demand and managed networks. The challenge for service providers like Bharti is to make these services available at a reduced total cost of ownership. To address this, we have opted for industry leading IP-based MPLS solution from Cisco. As an end-to-end provider of world class communication services, we are now uniquely positioned to offer high-speed, carrier class services to various enterprises in the country.”

Mr. Rangu Salgame, President, Cisco Systems India & SAARC, said, “Cisco is pleased that Bharti Infotel has chosen its IP-based MPLS solution. This end-to-end solution delivers significant operational and capital cost savings to Bharti Infotel and enables them to offer world class value-added services to address their corporate customer demands with comprehensive security, scalability and assured quality of service.”

MPLS Powered networks offer several advantages

·        Point to multipoint and multipoint to multipoint (Any-to-any) connectivity using one single link from customer premises to Bharti’s network

·        Multiple services – for e.g., VPN and internet access – can be delivered on the same link

·        A platform for rapid deployment of additional value-added IP services, including intranets, extranets, voice, multimedia, and network commerce

·        Bandwidth on demand empowers the enterprise customer to provision incremental bandwidth required for a specific period of time for applications like videoconferencing

·        Enhanced security to enterprise networks without the need for encryption

·        Traffic management capabilities of MPLS enables Differentiated Class of service - Voice, video and other mission critical data can be prioritized over other data traffic.

·        Centralized monitoring of quality of service parameters like latency, packet drops and management of VPN membership.

According to Mr. Jagbir Singh, Group CTO, Bharti Infotel, “MPLS based VPNs, makes it feasible to connect several hundred sites across the network in a secured manner, which is a key requirement especially for banks, govt. organizations etc. In addition, traffic management capability of MPLS provides guaranteed bandwidth and enhanced Quality of Service (QoS), critical for delivering real-time applications like e-learning and video streaming over the IP backbone.”