KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 7): Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) is partnering with India-headquartered telco Tata Communications Ltd to provide IP transit services in ASEAN.

In a statement today, TM said the collaboration is done via its global and wholesale arm, TM Wholesale, and Tata Communications' wholly-owned unit Tata Communications International Pte Ltd, to offer stable, high-speed and reliable connectivity in the region and open access to global enterprises.

"This collaboration will enable service providers, mobile network operators and internet service providers in the region to address their customers' growing data connectivity needs by providing access to a global Tier 1 Internet Protocol (IP) network.

"This will help deliver reliable and stable Tier 1 IP Transit (IPT) service, an internet connectivity service that enables end users to access all websites and content on the internet. It will further boost sectors such as e-commerce, online entertainment, retail, online banking and delivery services that have accelerated in recent times," TM said.

As part of this arrangement, Tata Communications is expanding its IPT service coverage by leveraging TM's data centre, extensive connectivity and network infrastructure in Malaysia.

This collaboration, TM added, will also enable Tata Communications to optimise TM's reachability within the ASEAN region through terrestrial networks and submarine cables to the neighbouring countries. The submarine cables include the Malaysia-Cambodia-Thailand submarine cable for connectivity to Indochina as well as the Nusantara Gateway submarine cable for connectivity to Indonesia.

TM said it will benefit from Tata Communications' global IPT network to serve customers in more than 190 countries and territories, which will also expand its IP transit coverage and enhance its regional TMiX (internet exchange) offering.

TM Wholesale executive vice president Amar Huzaimi Md Deris said: "We are delighted to work with a renowned global player like Tata Communications, to fulfil our role as the digital infrastructure accelerator in Malaysia.

"This is part of our effort to enhance our internet service performance with expanded global reach for service  providers in Malaysia and neighbouring countries to meet the growing IP networks' requirements. The collaboration underscores our commitment to our customers for delivering world class network service and brings us one step further to achieve our aspiration as the trusted digital hub in the ASEAN region. It also signifies our commitment to supporting the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDIGITAL) initiative towards enabling Digital Malaysia."

Tata Communications chief sales and marketing officer Sumeet Walia said the service provider ecosystem across the ASEAN region will benefit from the collaboration, which enables access to an IPT.

"[That would] provide scale and a fillip to the economy. By offering high-capacity and low-latency IP transit services to and from Malaysia for both our customers, we bring forth synergies for a more robust, secure and flexible IP platform," she said.

Shares of TM stood at the RM6.05 level after climbing 50% from RM4.03 on Oct 7, 2020, its lowest in the last 12 months, to give the company a market capitalisation of RM22.7 billion.