Tata Comms, TI Sparkle Strike 4G Peering Deal

'Industry-first' LTE roaming peering between two IPX providers extends community of LTE-enabled mobile network operators

Light Reading
June 10, 2013
URL: http://www.lightreading.com/wholesale/tata-comms-ti-sparkle-strike-4g-peering-deal/240156293

NEW YORK -- Tata Communications, a leading provider of A New World of Communications, and Telecom Italia Sparkle, a leading global operator and the international services arm of Telecom Italia Group, today announce the implementation of the world’s first LTE roaming peering between two IPX providers. This industry-first peering extends the global community of interconnected LTE enabled mobile network operators (MNOs) as 4G adoption continues to grow.

With 4G LTE revenues projected to exceed $100bn globally in 2014[i], LTE roaming enablement is critical to maximising revenue growth. This peering will enable the exchange of LTE roaming traffic between Tata Communications and Telecom Italia Sparkle’s networks, creating an interconnected infrastructure that combines the quality and security of the respective IPX networks.

Genius Wong, Senior Vice President of Global Network Services at Tata Communications, says, “We expect the demand for 4G services to explode within the next two years. To ensure that mobile operators are able to cope with this trend, it’s crucial that the interconnection and interworking complexities of global LTE roaming are eliminated. Peering with Telecom Italia Sparkle supports our mission to drive efficiencies in the industry, enabling MNOs to focus on their core competencies while maximising the revenue opportunities around next-generation networks.”

The LTE roaming peering between Tata Communications and Telecom Italia Sparkle is an extension of an existing IPX inter-provider interconnect between the two companies, which supports live traffic including signalling, voice and data roaming, as well as end-to-end QoS.

Tata Communications Ltd.