DUBAI -- Tata Communications and its Partners today announced that Tyco Telecommunications, will be constructing the TGN Gulf cable system.

Tata Communications' partners in the TGN Gulf project, namely Bahrain Internet Exchange in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Nawras of Oman, Qatar Telecom of Qatar, Mobily of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates will each be an exclusive landing party for the TGN Gulf Cable System. Tata Communications and its partners intend to build on this cable project as part of strategic relationships that will support the development of an extended portfolio of advanced telecommunications services such as Global Ethernet, MPLS based VPN, Managed Security, IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) and Global Telepresence. All these services are ideally suited to support both local and global enterprises, which are very active in this rapidly expanding emerging market region.

The announcement was made at a gala event in Dubai hosted by Tata Communications and attended by representatives of the partners as well as Tyco Telecommunications. At the event, Tata Communications unveiled its commitment to the Middle East region by earmarking around $200 million for the development of its telecom operations in the region over the next two years.

The TGN Gulf cable build announcement partnering with this prominent group of operators, supported by the investment commitment underscores Tata Communications strategic intent to participate and assist in the rapid development of the region.

Vinod Kumar, President and COO of Tata Communication, said: "We firmly believe in the growth potential and increasing dynamism in the Middle East region. This conviction translates tangibly into investments that will increase our infrastructure and services coverage throughout the region. Most importantly, this is steered by the strong foundational partnerships that we have formed with leading Middle Eastern operators. We see the Middle East as a crucial building block in our Emerging Markets strategy and in delivering the "new world of communications" to our global enterprise customers. Along with our partners, we are confident of creating sustained mutual benefits while serving global and Middle Eastern companies with a unique service portfolio."

Tata Communications Ltd.