New Delhi/Singapore, June 14 (IANS): Singapore Telecommunications Limited (Singtel) and BhartiAirtel Limited (Airtel) on Tuesday announced that they have joined hands to deliver high-speed, secure data network coverage to Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the US.

The companies have combined resources into one network to provide high speed data connectivity to 325 cities across the world through 370 Points of Presence (PoP). This will form one of the largest Internet Protocol Virtual Private Networks (IP VPN) globally, they said in a joint statement.

"With its wide coverage of cities in India, this network paves the way for our international customers to enter into one of the world’s most vibrant economies. Conversely, this partnership also opens the door for Indian companies to expand abroad, supported by Singtel’s high quality IP VPN network in major business cities in Asia, Europe and the US," said Lim Seng Kong, Managing Director of Global Enterprise Business at Singtel Group Enterprise.

"This association will strongly enhance our value proposition for enterprise customers by offering them a wider global reach and the largest reach within India under a single platform. In particular, this will benefit companies in the pharmaceutical, IT and IT-enabled services as well as financial services segments, which are branching out to international locations rapidly,” said Manish Prakash, Director for Strategic Ventures at Bharti Airtel.

The new network will ensure a consistent one-stop customer experience through a single helpdesk and an integrated operations and maintenance system jointly developed by the partners, the statement said.

Through this partnership, Singtel also strengthens its lead as the largest IP VPN provider in Asia Pacific with strong domestic data network in Australia, India and Singapore.