Tata Communications has announced a strategic investment of close to US$450 million to build an AI super highway in India, a high-speed, low-latency network fabric linking the country’s key AI and data-centre corridors to global markets, including Southeast Asia.
Key Takeaways
- Tata Communications will invest close to US$450 million to build roughly 10,000km of AI-ready fibre infrastructure connecting India’s key AI and data-centre corridors.
- The first phase links Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai, extending connectivity to more than 100 data centres including emerging Tier III/IV facilities.
- The build-out ties into Tata Communications’ subsea cable investments linking India to Singapore, including a new Chennai-Singapore cable system expected ready for service in Q4 2029.
Tata Communications said it will build around 10,000 kilometres of new long-haul fibre across India, creating one of the country’s largest AI-ready connectivity networks. Integrated with the company’s global network backbone, the AI super highway is designed to give customers a seamless, end-to-end connectivity fabric that supports the performance, resilience and scale required for next-generation AI workloads.
Connecting India’s AI Corridors to the World
The first phase of the programme will focus on the Mumbai-Pune-Hyderabad-Chennai route, one of India’s most important AI and hyperscale growth corridors, before expanding into emerging data-centre ecosystems including Vizag, Bhubaneswar, Jamnagar and GIFT City. The infrastructure will eventually extend connectivity to more than 100 data centres, including Tier III and Tier IV facilities still under development.
“We are excited about the opportunity in the India data centre-to-data centre connectivity, which we believe could evolve into a market exceeding USD 1 billion over the medium term,” said Ganesh Lakshminarayanan, MD and CEO, Tata Communications. “With our planned investments, we are building on our existing strengths to create one of the most comprehensive data centre connectivity platforms in the market, positioning us to capture this significant growth opportunity.”
A Gateway Linking India to Singapore and Beyond
The investment builds on Tata Communications’ existing subsea connectivity between India and Singapore. The company enhanced its Tata Global Network capabilities in June 2026 by planning a new subsea cable system between Mumbai and Singapore, and has invested as a consortium member in a separate system connecting Chennai to Singapore, with an expected ready-for-service date in the fourth quarter of 2029.
“The AI economy needs more than compute. It needs a network built for speed, scale and resilience,” said Rupesh Chokshi, Chief Product and Technology Officer, Executive Vice President and Global Business Head – Network Services, Tata Communications. “Our AI Network Fabric will give our global customers the ultra-low-latency, high-capacity and resilient connectivity they need to scale AI with confidence.”
Built for Hyperscalers and Global Capability Centres
The network fabric is aimed at hyperscale and neocloud providers, AI workloads, digital-native businesses, Global Capability Centres and enterprises entering India’s next phase of digital transformation. Tata Communications’ broader network already spans more than 500,000km of subsea optical fibre and over 200,000km of terrestrial fibre, and the company says it will continue scaling its National Long Distance and metro network footprint in parallel with the new build-out.
