LONDON -- Reliance Communications, India’s leading telecom service provider and among Asia’s 6 most valuable telecom companies, today announced significant plans to expand FLAG Telecom’s global optic fibre network. Over the next 36 months, FLAG Telecom will build the world’s largest IP network over submarine cable systems. Termed - FLAG Next Generation Network (NGN), the project will cater to the fast-growing telecom needs of over 5 billion customers across the globe ( i.e. 5 out of 6 people in the world ).

FLAG Telecom Limited, currently the world’s largest private undersea cable system, would invest $ 1.5 billion (nearly Rs. 7000 crore) in laying 50,000 additional kms of undersea optic fibre cable which would ultimately cover 6O countries, contributing 90% of Global GDP. On completion, FLAG Global Network would span over 1,15,000 kms by December 2009 taking the total optic fibre assets of Reliance Communications Group to over 2,30,000 kms.

“We live in a world where there is too much of bandwidth for some, little for others and none for many – there is unequal access to bandwidth in and across countries, continents and communities”, said Mr. Anil Dhirubhai Ambani, Chairman – Reliance Communications. “FLAG NGN will democratize digital access and give nearly everyone in the world the opportunity to be part of a massive lifestyle change which might have surprised even a visionary as big as Dhirubhai…”, he added.

Reliance Communications Ltd. (RCom)