VSNL in Wi-Fi Pact With NTT

Tata group's Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd on Thursday announced expansion of its international in-roaming service on Wi-Fi with the addition of NTT, Japan.

Starhub, Singapore, already utilizes the company's Wi-Fi network across India for its customers, the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

"Over the next six months, the company intends to open up its extensive Wi-Fi network to millions of customers of international telecom operators," Prateek Pashine, Vice President - Planning, Retail Broadband Business, said.

This would help travellers to have access to high speed wireless broadband zones in key locations in the top 10 cities in the country, he added.

The company has been leading the growth of the Wi-Fi industry in India and has the largest Wi-Fi deployment among domestic ISPs with over 350 hotspots.

It has drawn up major plans this year to further enhance the footprint to over 1000 hotspots - bringing high-speed broadband internet more closer to the large Indian traveling population, it said.

The firm's hotspots include the major domestic and international airports, leading premium Star hotels, educational institutions, sports stadium, hospitals, chain of restaurants and coffee shops, it said.

The company has also been driving innovation through creating hotspots at non-traditional locations like Mobile Stores, IT stores, Railway Stations, etc.