AIRTEL TO SET UP INTERNATIONAL POINTS OF PRESENCE IN MALAYSIA

By P.Vijian

NEW DELHI, Feb 5 (Bernama) -- India's major mobile phone operator, Bharti Airtel, plans to set up points of presence (PoPs) in Malaysia to expand its global wholesale voice and data services business, the Economic Times reported Friday.

Besides Malaysia, the company has also identified France and the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) for the international PoPs.

"Bharti had decided to establish six new international PoPs over the next
two quarters in the Middle East, Europe and the Asia Pacific, to grow it's
global wholesale voice and data services business.

"In the immediate term, we are looking at a presence in Dubai, Paris and
Malaysia.

"These properties will either be directly owned by Bharti Airtel
offshore entities or be hired, depending on the regulatory environment in a
particular country," Rajan Swaroop, the company's Executive Director
(Enterprises Services Division), told Economic Times.

The PoPs are locations where a long-distance carrier could terminate
services and provide connections into a local telephone network.

The PoPs would also enable Airtel to route all its outbound traffic
to these overseas markets at a cheaper rate for subscribers.

The company has invested nearly US$600 million for its global communications
network infrastructure.

Airtel, with over 110 million subscribers, has now emerged as a key telecom
player in Asia, with investments in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
--BERNAMA