Published: [October 27, 2026]
StartupFeed Quick Take
- Tata Communications will spend Rs 4,350 crore on about 10,000 km of new fibre in India
- The exchange filing puts the extra capacity at about 6 petabits per second, landing between FY2030 and FY2036
- Real revenue from the build starts only around FY28 to FY29
Mumbai-based Tata Communications said on October 26 it will spend Rs 4,350 crore to lay about 10,000 km of new fibre across India.
The money is big. The capacity is years away.
Tata Communications’ filing with the stock exchanges sets out the timetable. The build adds about 6 petabits per second between FY2030 and FY2036. The India network carries 1.25 petabits per second today.
StartupFeed worked the multiple out from those two figures. Total India capacity would reach about 7.25 petabits per second, or 5.8 times today’s level.
Tata Communications Starts With the Mumbai to Chennai Corridor
The first phase covers Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai. The company’s statement of October 26 calls it one of India’s busiest AI and hyperscale routes.
The second phase runs from Hyderabad to Vizag, and adds more capacity in Chennai. The third phase reaches Bhubaneswar, Vizag, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Jamnagar.
Gujarat’s GIFT City sits in that last phase. The new routes will also link to global cable landing stations.
Speed is the selling point. Chokshi has said a Mumbai to Chennai round trip should take 15 to 16 milliseconds. That is a plan, not a measured result.
The buyers it is chasing are hyperscalers, neocloud firms, AI platforms and global capability centres.
This is not the company’s first AI network in India. It is already building a dedicated link for Amazon Web Services between Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai, at a cost of about Rs 430 crore.
Tata Communications already owns a lot of fibre. Its network spans more than 500,000 km under the sea and more than 200,000 km on land.
Rupesh Chokshi, who heads network services at Tata Communications, said compute alone is not enough:
“It needs a network built for speed, scale and resilience.”
Rupesh Chokshi, chief product and technology officer and global business head for network services, Tata Communications. From the company statement, October 26, 2026.
The Money Comes From Cash the Company Already Makes
Chokshi has said the build will be paid for from operating cash flows. Tata Communications made Rs 1,562 crore of net operating cash in the first half of FY27.
Spread over five years, Rs 4,350 crore is about Rs 870 crore a year. At the first-half run rate, that is near 28 per cent of a year’s operating cash.
The last quarter was strong. Revenue rose 9.6 per cent to Rs 6,688 crore in the September quarter. Net profit climbed 86 per cent to Rs 341 crore.
Data revenue grew 12.2 per cent to Rs 5,810 crore. EBITDA rose 21.2 per cent to Rs 1,422 crore, and the margin widened to 21.3 per cent.
EBITDA means earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation.
Revenue Starts Only Around FY28 to FY29
The payback is slow by design. Real revenue starts around FY28 to FY29, as fibre is lit and capacity is sold.
Customer contracts are expected to run five to ten years. The fibre itself is built to last about 25 years.
Tata Communications wants 30 to 40 per cent of the data centre to data centre market in India. The company puts that market above $1 Bn over the medium term.
Current use of the India network sits at 70 to 80 per cent. That leaves little room before the new routes arrive.
The company is also buying subsea capacity to Singapore. A new Chennai to Singapore cable is due to go live in the last quarter of 2029.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Planned spend | Rs 4,350 crore ($400 to $450 Mn) |
| New fibre | About 10,000 km |
| Capacity added | About 6 petabits per second |
| Capacity in India today | 1.25 petabits per second |
| When the capacity lands | FY2030 to FY2036 |
| Mumbai to Chennai round trip | 15 to 16 milliseconds, planned |
| Fibre asset life | About 25 years |
What Indian AI Buyers Should Watch
Indian data centre operators in Vizag and Bhubaneswar gain the most, but late. Their routes sit in phases two and three.
Startups training models in India will not see cheaper links from this build before FY28. Until then, the existing network and subsea routes carry the load.
Three things can slow the work. State by state right of way permissions, the monsoon and route changes on the ground all add time.
The company says a growing share of the expansion is backed by anchor customer commitments. It has named none of them.
Buyers of capacity should ask for dates in writing. That window runs six financial years, not a single delivery date.
One test comes sooner than FY2030. Watch how much of the first corridor is sold to anchor customers before the fibre is lit.
What this means for you: If you run an Indian data centre or an AI startup in Vizag, Bhubaneswar or GIFT City, this build reaches you in phase two or three. Plan your 2027 and 2028 capacity on today’s routes, and ask Tata Communications for a written date before you sign anything.
StartupFeed Insight
The headline number is Rs 4,350 crore. The number that matters is FY2036. Tata Communications has set a window of six financial years for the new capacity to land, and real revenue only from FY28 to FY29. That is a slow build in a market that moves every quarter. Spread over five years, the spend is near 28 per cent of a year’s operating cash, so the balance sheet is not the risk. Delivery is. Watch for the first named anchor customer on the Mumbai to Chennai leg by March 2027. If none is announced, the phase two timeline will slip.
By Saraswati Chaubey, Writer
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