DIAL CHINA VIA NATHU-LA

Dial China via Nathu-la

OUR CORRESPONDENT-Telegraph

Gangtok, Aug. 31: Reliance Communications and China Telecom have established the first direct terrestrial telecommunication link between Chinese and domestic markets through Nathu-la in Sikkim.

The link was provided on Friday when the two telecom companies completed the laying of over 200km-long cable that passes through the inhospitable terrain of the 14,200ft high mountain pass. Bilateral trade between India and China is conducted through Nathu-la.

The cable, linking Yadong in China with Siliguri in India, will provide direct connectivity between all major Indian and Chinese locations as well as expanding high-bandwidth coverage to more rural and urban areas in both the countries, sources in Reliance Communications said.

Prior to this link, the only connectivity option between the two countries was undersea cable routes through Hong Kong or Singapore. However, the undersea networks were vulnerable to disruption from typhoons and earthquakes, the sources said.

Both international traders and consumers in the region will benefit from the link, which is expected to improve Internet connectivity and voice clarity.

Punit Garg, the president of Reliance Communications, said: “India and China represent the largest growing economies in the world and the current global economic environment requires ever increasing high-bandwidth, converged applications to be run between two domestic markets.”

Describing the cable link as a “landmark”, Han YiHu, the managing director of China Telecom, said: “This represents many years of planning and hard work. We are very pleased with the increased dedicated bandwidth availability, connection speed and security this cable will provide to Chinese based enterprises and consumers.”

Countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and even Pakistan and Bangladesh will also benefit in the long term.

The Sikkim Chamber of Commerce has congratulated the telecom companies for the feat. “This is another milestone in improving the relationship between the two Asian giants,” said S.K. Sarda, its president.