Tata Communications is set to build an advanced AI-ready network in India for Amazon Web Services (AWS) connecting major AWS infrastructure sites.
In what is becoming a growing trend among global telecom operators, who are investing substantial funds to expand, or upgrade their terrestrial networks to meet future data traffic demands, contributed by data-hungry workloads such as AI/ML, while future-proofing their networks to meet the requirements of their hyperscalers and enterprise customers.
The strategic collaboration between the companies will see Tata Communications connect the hyperscalers’ three main infrastructure facilities located throughout the country with two data centers located in Mumbai and Hyderabad, and its Direct Connect and Edge Network infrastructure located in Chennai. According to the companies, the new fibre network will feature express routes designed to deliver ultra-low latency, which is viewed as essential for compute-intensive AI and ML workloads.
With the fibre build tipped to be the largest construction project for the company with an estimated cable length of 18,000km boasting a network capacity of 7.2Tbps with an estimated completion date by the end of 2026. The partnership will also enable businesses nationwide to build, train and deploy scalable AI applications, driving innovation across critical sectors such as healthcare, finance and education.
Brendan Swan, Senior Research Analyst, GlobalData stated: “Over the last 12 months, more global telecom operators are looking to enhance and modernise their terrestrial networks to support the increased data traffic contributed by the growth of AI.”
“Telcos have significantly increased their capital expenditure upgrading their network capabilities, including using modern technologies such as built-in AI, machine learning (ML) and cognitive computing,” added Swan.
In the United States, Lumen announced it would increase its capital expenditure by 30% to $4.2bn to meet its intercity needs as the carrier looks to almost quadruple its fibre network in the coming years while launching its Private Connectivity Fabric, a custom network that includes dedicated access to existing fibre in the Lumen network providing the network capacity, performance, stability and speed primarily targeted at hyperscalers and data center providers.
Additionally, Zayo have announced that they plan to construct 5,000 miles of new route miles to be completed with construction well underway connecting Phoenix to Tucson, and Chicago to both Minneapolis and Columbus. Zayo has also completed a full 400G upgrade of its North American network.