Tata Launches Global Low Latency Effort

Tata Communications (news, filings) has launched a global low latency network connecting Asia, North America and Europe aimed at the industries most sensitive to latency in their connectivity. The financial vertical is the most visible segment of course, with high frequency traders still out there paying big bucks for fewer and fewer microseconds.

Interestingly, though, Tata’s announcement didn’t focus on any one particular route or geography — no dueling milliseconds between particular financial hubs etc.  Instead what they are emphasizing is the overall platform and their global reach, which allows them to be the sole supplier rather than try to be a regional specialist.  But this also reflects the evolution of the low latency sector over the past year, as the number of markets to which latency matters to a critical mass of customers has been growing steadily.

And while the financial vertical is of course prominently featured, one gets the feeling that Tata really preparing to take on other verticals and especially cloud-cloud connectivity. After completing its loop around the globe, Tata is in a strong position to help seemlessly hook up cloud assets in the Mid and Far East with those in the US and Europe.

Tata’s low latency offering is a pure multipoint Ethernet platform, which makes it a bit different from the rest of the field. Rather than MPLS or raw wavelengths, they’re working off of 802.1ah Provider Backbone Bridging (PBB) technology, which doesn’t get as much press as it once did.  The company claims up to 35% savings on circuit and operations costs as a result.

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Categories: Low Latency · Undersea cables