With the U.S. economy in a tailspin and many European nations suffering as well, several major telcos announced the formation of a coalition to represent their interests in India, the second-most populous country in the world. AT&T, British Telecom, Cable & Wireless, Orange Business Services and Verizon Business are the charter members of the ACTO, the Association of Competitive Telecom Operators, which will lobby the Indian government to enhance enterprise communications in the rapidly growing and industrializing nation.
Satya Gupta, of BT Global Services, will serve as president of the coalition. The group hopes to represent and advocate on the behalf of pro-competitive principles, open markets and the development of emerging technologies in India, in an effort to develop sustainable investment in telecom infrastructure.
India's booming and already giant population makes for a promising location for telcos to rapidly gain enterprise customers to offset landline losses and slow economies elsewhere in the world. If the coalition is successful in creating a more competitive, open market for enterprise telecommunications services, it could prove to be a very wise move for all the companies involved.
For more:
- see the Business Times article here
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