Tata Communications in alliance with its South African subsidiary, Neotel, announced the launch of its SEACOM cable system which the company says it first such network providing undersea submarine connectivity between South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya to Europe, Asia and India.

Tata Comm’s subsidiary, Tata Communications Transformation Services Limited (TCTS) will manage the network administration, operations and maintenance of the system. The system runs over 17,000 km and supports 1.28 Tbps capacity. Tata Comm will operate the landing point in Mumbai while Neotel will manage the landing point in South Africa.

 “As a truly global service provider, Tata Communications is able to provide end-to-end solutions in India, Europe and South Africa, as well as onward connectivity to major business destinations in the US and Asia,” said Byron Clatterbuck, Senior Vice President, Global Transmission Services at Tata Communications. “The SEACOM cable system sets Tata Communications apart from our competitors by bringing unprecedented business value to enterprises and service providers.”

Neotel has made an investment of R20m in the landing station and facilities necessary to land SEACOM, not including backhaul connectivity.

“SEACOM will add another alternative to the market, and consumers will benefit from the resulting competition,” says Stefano Mattiello, Chief Sales and Customer Service Officer at Neotel. “The relationship between Tata Communications and Neotel, and their involvement in all of the international cables, means that businesses and consumers will now really have access to a seamless service connecting them to the rest of the world at affordable rates.”