Tata Communications will pump $200 million into its operations in the Middle East as part of its emerging markets strategy.
The bulk will go into the construction of a Gulf cable network, which will form part of the Tata Global Network, and is being built in conjunction with several Middle-Eastern operators.
Construction of the network began in 2009, and is due to be completed in 2H11.
It will also invest in six new Telepresence rooms in Middle East and Africa – due to open by end-2010 - and on managed services covering security, hosting, and cloud computing.
Speaking at Tata’s first European media and analyst day yesterday, COO Vinod Kumar said the firm could look to acquire an emerging markets operator some time in the next two years.
The Indian-based carrier will open its second South African data center in Cape Town later this month, just ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Kumar said the event will place “an unprecedented capacity demand for IT resources, power, space, bandwidth and expertise,” on South Africa’s telcos, but says that creates fresh opportunities for Tata to demonstrate its capabilities to other African telecoms firms.
Demand for voice and Internet access in South Africa remains high, making the country a good staging point for expansion into neighboring countries such as Kenya, Botswana, and Namibia, Kumar said.
However, any expansion in Africa will be via partnerships rather than acquisitions, Kumar told telecomasia.net. “Partnerships are a way of life for us...[It’s a] successful model.”