MUMBAI - October 15, 2008 - Tata Communications, a leading provider of the new world of communications, announced the launch of its TelePresence rooms available for public use in the United States and United Kingdom, linking to additional public rooms in Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai, India. The collaboration between Tata Communications and Cisco is the first managed telepresence service in the world to deliver public and private Cisco TelePresence rooms to companies globally. This new service will allow companies and individuals to use Cisco TelePresence for one-off meetings.
Tata Communications is working with Cisco, Taj Hotels owner, the Indian Hotels Company Limited, and the Confederation of India Industry (CII) to offer public telepresence facilities which are available for rent on an hourly basis. The first phase of public rooms was launched in India in July at the Taj Hotels in Mumbai and Bangalore, and CII offices in Bangalore and Chennai. Tata plans to make 100 rooms available globally by the end of 2009.
Cisco today also introduced a dedicated public Cisco TelePresence suites facility in Santa Clara, California.
"With this innovative service offering, Tata Communications is not only adding value to its business and that of its customers, but revolutionising business altogether," said Tata Communications, Chief Operating Officer, Vinod Kumar. "This groundbreaking innovation enables our global customers to join a wider ecosystem of users via public access rooms allowing them to not only to communicate virtually in real-time but providing a cost-effective and eco-friendly solution."
The public room offering creates a larger network of interconnected rooms and expands the telepresence market to small and mid-sized businesses. Tata Communications' managed service offers a professionally run concierge service that handles reservations, scheduling, customer support, monitoring, management, reporting and billing capabilities. These services provide organizations with the ease and speed to deploy and manage highly collaborative tools more effectively. The public room offering is also certified as a world class network solution, which further helps ensure high levels of reliability and availability.
"Public Cisco TelePresence rooms provide global organisations with a cost effective way to connect in virtual 'in person' meetings with key customers, partners and suppliers around the globe. Our objective was to collaborate with a company to launch a unique Cisco TelePresence solution that was innovative, yet reliable and cost effective for businesses whatever their size," said Cisco Chief Globalisation Officer, Wim Elfrink. "Working with Tata Communications offers customers extensive coverage in a user-friendly managed service, and has the potential to help small to medium businesses develop more globalised business models. These Public Cisco TelePresence rooms join a Cisco TelePresence ecosystem that has almost 300 rooms internal to Cisco and more than 1,000 rooms installed by over 200 customers. Cisco TelePresence is now represented in over 60 countries worldwide."
Cisco TelePresence provides life-like, high definition, conferencing facilities with superior audio, video and environmental qualities allowing participants to meet their colleagues, customers and business partners across a virtual table. Cisco TelePresence use also contributes towards a company's environmental responsibility, enabling it to lower overall CO2 emissions by reducing the need for travel.
"It is our constant endeavour to provide state-of-the-art value-added services to our customers. With the telepresence facility, we will be one of the first hospitality companies worldwide to offer this kind of cutting edge technology. We are happy to announce that this facility will be available at Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces' properties in Mumbai, Bangalore, New York, Boston and London," said Mr. Raymond Bickson, managing director, Indian Hotels Corporation Ltd.
Tata Communications has plans to open additional rooms in Hyderabad, Gurgaon, and New York later this year, with a more extensive global rollout of 100 rooms planned to be deployed by 2009.
For further information on Tata Communications Telepresence Services visit www.tatacommunications.com/telepresence
About Tata Communications
Tata Communications, a member of the $62.5 billion Tata Group, is a leading global provider of a new world of communications. The emerging markets communications leader leverages its advanced solutions capabilities and domain expertise across its global and pan-India network to deliver managed solutions to multi-national and Indian enterprises, service providers and Indian consumers.
Tata Communications' range of services include transmission, IP, converged voice, mobility, managed network connectivity, hosting and storage, managed security, managed collaboration and business transformation for global enterprises and service providers, as well as Internet, retail broadband and content services for Indian consumers. The Tata Global Network encompasses one of the most advanced and largest submarine cable networks, a Tier-1 IP network, with connectivity to more than 200 countries across 300 Pops, and more than 1 million square feet of data center and co-location facilities.
Tata Communications' unique emerging market depth and breadth of reach includes a national fiber backbone network and access to network in over 60 cities and 125 Pops in India, strategic investments in South African converged services operator, Neotel, Sri Lanka and Nepal and, subject to fulfillment of conditions precedent, a 50% ownership in China Enterprise Communications (CEC) providing full country VPN coverage in China.
Servicing customers from its offices in over 80 cities in 40 countries, Tata Communications is the number one global international wholesale voice operator and number one provider of international long distance, enterprise data and Internet services in India, the Company was named "Best Wholesale Carrier" at the World Communications Awards in 2006, "Best Pan-Asian Wholesale Provider" at the 2006 and 2007 Capacity Magazine Global Wholesale Telecommunications Awards and was awarded "Best Progress in Emerging Markets" at the 2008 Mobile Communication Awards.
Tata Communications Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India and its ADRs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. (NYSE: TCL)
