Letter to a friend Letter to a friend from Jean JeanDevos Devos
My dear friend, A changing Asia-Pac!
My Dear Friend
You try to understand what is going on in the Asia-Pacific region and you have requested my help. It isBay” clear that the emergence of India “Botany and China is now the main driving force of I published a modest novel, whose title our industry.recently Actually India, much more than is Botany Bay. It is the place in Australia where China. Alcatel established a
India - through companiessubmarine like Tata/VSNL, cable facReliance/Flag, Barthi - is now playing a major tory in 1989 as part of global role when China is acting to respond its contract for the to its own need. India is deregulated so there Tasman 2 China link. In are a lot of business opportunities. is this same international bay, where two growing rapidly and so is their centuries traffic, but under close control and a before very the expedition cautious approach. ChinaFrench Netcom has now even sold their Asia-Netcom network. “La Pérouse” made of two ships, La Boussole
It is quite interesting to note that China plans to build TPE, a Transpacific loop, when Tata/ VSNL (India) own TGNpac, a 7 Terabits cable of which “only” 640 Mbits is presently lit. It means that the Chinese theirtoown cable that and l’Astrolabe, landedwant in 1788 discover direct to US. Captain Cook was already around bearing the British flag. So Botany Bay is now for me the
India runsevent the “Atlantic “of over building, Warrior was still risk in everyone’s memory. It though “over-competition”. is for these reasons among others that STC (UK) rejected the Alcatel‘s suggestion to come with a
The following are also now coming joint bid, toquestions offer a “European” solution. to mind: What will the South-East Asia One of the winning factors has been the carriers do? And where stands the Japanese Port-Botany cable factory. Such a factory was a carriers?
strong requirement from OTC (now Telstra) and the Australian Government. The Japanese carriers, NTT and KDDI are looking Alcatel at building own single direct Such a wastheir the most motivated. Japan-US cable.expand They still have the possibility factory could its influence in the Pacific to where upgrade the existing Japan-US. the three other players were historically AAG (Asia-America is which a Malaysiawell established inGateway) this region, represents Telecom initiative. The idea is to organise a a large part of their market. They saw this consortium of SEA carriers and build their factory as a to risk their own connexion US.forAre theyexisting going to facilities! stay SubOptic ‘87 in Versailles came at the right an independent project or are they going to time. It one is where Australian discovered the join of thethe other projects?teams We will see. French model, a close cooperation between MyAlcatel dear friend, discussions arewanted probably and FT,many exactly what they to estaking place between all these players. Only tablish in their country. “God” knows - and I am not even sure of that My friend, things are changed since, but - how the final picture will look like! A lot of one thing stays true: When you offer something, geo-political and economical factors are interthe reader can see between the lines if you are playing. or not genuinely motivated and sincere. Then your offerisbecomes attractive and this Forecasting becomingreally an almost impossible task in a the rapidly changing world. But it’s fun! opens route to “Botany Bay.”
VSNL has now announced the construction symbol of a dream which becomes a reality! of a Singapore –Guam cable interconnecting Tasman 2 has been another chapter TGNpac with their TIC, Tatayet India-Singapore in this long Anglo-French competition! cable. With their planned India-Europe cableThe award toPortugal) Alcatel came out asclose a bigthe surprise (logically this would TGN to global Reliance-Flag have now put many,loop. including inside Alcatel. Everybody was their Falconexpecting cable intothe service and naturally British to may win extend that batittle, to East Africa. and such an expectation was at that time And it is the right approach: infrastructures are nowSee planned, built and financed by the one very logical. you soon. MTNL/BSNL the state owned India companies who need it! There were so many difficulties and are also planning to jointly build their misunderstanding between This Australia and network eastward and westward. is the main one being the French presence Submarcom Consulting a France, governmental reaction to the private in the Pacific area, the worse being the nuclear entrepreneurs
Jean Devos Jean Devos
bomb experiment in Tahiti! The sad Rainbow
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