India's Airtel launches global interconnect platform

India's Bharti Airtel has launched a platform offering global interconnect solutions. Branded Airtel Advantage, it is the first of its kind for an Indian service provider, claims the company, which is pursuing a bigger share of the global market for digital services.

The automated service will supposedly allow carriers to cut the complexity and time involved in provisioning interconnection for different geographies. The new platform will also offer real-time analytics on different aspects of network usage, providing insights and control to customers. This could all help enterprises to reduce time to market and better manage their network infrastructure.

"The next-gen platform will place the power in the hands of users to find a customized solution of their choice and deploy it, all in a matter of hours," said Vani Venkatesh, the CEO of Airtel's global business.

Airtel Advantage will offer international voice and SMS services initially and will add Direct Inward Dialing (DID) and International Toll Free Services (ITFS) soon, said Airtel.

Airtel has a strong presence in various markets outside India. Among other things, it will be able to make use of more than 1,200 partnerships as well as submarine cable and satellite network tie-ups across the globe.

The cloud-led digital transformation of enterprises in all parts of the world is fueling demand for interconnect solutions. Enterprises are also looking for faster provisioning and better control of their infrastructure. Airtel, however, will be competing with several telecom carriers, as well as other companies, already providing interconnect solutions.