VSNL, Asia Netcom in Interconnect Pact

VSNL has signed an agreement with the Hong Kong-based Asia Netcom to lease its pan-Asia undersea cable system. The 19,500 km cable network, which offers 80 Gbps bandwidth, links India to Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. The agreement also envisages additional bandwidth across the Pacific through Tyco's cable system, which will connect the rest of Asia to the US. The Netcom-VSNL deal also assumes significance in light of Reliance Infocomm's proposal to acquire FLAG. FLAG has an exclusive tie-up with VSNL, which may run into rough weather if Reliance buys it.