Contact Information: Media Contacts: Lee Ann Lim Tata Communications +1 703 999 1726 Leeann.lim@tatacommunications.com Janice Goveas Tata Communications +91 92233 94575 janice.goveas@tatacommunications.com Media Agency STC Associates +1 212 725 1900 x204 kristen@stcassociates.com
Tata Communications First to Launch Cisco TelePresence Rooms for Public Use
Pay-per-Use Public Rooms Available in Taj Hotels and Business Centres Around the World
| Source: Cisco Systems, Inc.
MUMBAI, INDIA--(Marketwire - October 15, 2008) - Tata Communications (NYSE : TCL ), 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
(NASDAQ : CSCO ) 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 includes 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
include 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 )
Forward-looking and cautionary statements
Certain words and statements in this release concerning Tata Communications
and its prospects, and other statements, including those relating to Tata
Communications' expected financial position, business strategy, the future
development of Tata Communications' operations, and the general economy in
India, are forward-looking statements. Such statements involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including financial,
regulatory and environmental, as well as those relating to industry growth
and trend projections, which may cause actual results, performance or
achievements of Tata Communications, or industry results, to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. The important factors that could cause actual results,
performance or achievements to differ materially from such forward-looking
statements include, among others, failure to increase the volume of traffic
on Tata Communications' network; failure to develop new products and
services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins;
failure to successfully complete commercial testing of new technology and
information systems to support new products and services, including voice
transmission services; failure to stabilize or reduce the rate of price
compression on certain of the company's communications services; failure to
integrate strategic acquisitions and changes in government policies or
regulations of India and, in particular, changes relating to the
administration of Tata Communications' industry; and, in general, the
economic, business and credit conditions in India. Additional factors that
could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ
materially from such forward-looking statements, many of which are not in
Tata Communications' control, include, but are not limited to, those risk
factors discussed in Tata Communications' various filings with the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available at
www.sec.gov. Tata Communications is under no obligation to, and expressly
disclaims any obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking
statements.
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