Tata Communications has announced plans to invest nearly $450 million to build around 10,000km (6,213 miles) of long-haul, AI-ready fiber in India.

The company said the network will create one of India's largest AI-ready connectivity networks, aimed at supporting the demand for next-generation AI workloads.

Tata noted that it has set aside $400-450 million for the build, which the company said will support the country's data center growth.

The company said the investment will support the demand from hyperscale and neocloud providers, AI workloads, digital-native businesses, Global Capability Centers (GCCs), enterprises and emerging cloud platforms.

Tata will carry out its fiber buildout in three phases, with the first focused on the Mumbai-Pune-Hyderabad-Chennai corridor, one of India’s most important AI and hyperscale growth routes.

Further phases will then expand connectivity into emerging East Coast and Western India data center ecosystems, including Vizag, Bhubaneswar, Jamnagar, Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) City, and other strategic locations.

According to Tata, by linking these routes and data center clusters with international cable landing stations, Tata Communications will be able to drive seamless connectivity between India and major global AI hubs.

"With our planned investments, we are building on our existing strengths to create one of the most comprehensive data center connectivity platforms in the market, positioning us to capture this significant growth opportunity," said Ganesh Lakshminarayanan, MD and CEO, Tata Communications.

"As we scale, a growing proportion of our expansion is being driven by anchor customer commitments and contracted demand, providing a strong foundation for sustainable growth, efficient capital deployment and long-term value creation.”

The planned system will be connected to Tata Communications' global network backbone, which spans 500,000km (310,685 miles) of subsea optical fiber and 200,000km (124,275 miles) of terrestrial fiber.