India and Pakistan are exploring a proposal to connect to each other through an optical-fiber cable link. The project, at a conceptual stage, may see Indian telecom companies partnering with Pakistan Telecommunication Company to connect Wagah and Mumbai through Amritsar. Senior officials in the Department of Telecom said that the project is being discussed between the two governments and a feasibility study is being done on security issues. They said that either Bharat Sanchar Nigam or the Tata-managed Videsh Sanchar Nigam may become the Indian partner, if the proposal gets the consent of the two governments.

Private long distance operators with an optical fiber cable network such as Reliance Infocomm and Bharti may also be invited to bid for the project. Pakistan Telecom is the only operator in Pakistan and is keen to set up the link with India to bring down Internet and data leased line costs. Currently, Pakistan is connected to the world only through a single undersea optic fiber link, the South East Asia, Middle East and Western Europe-3.

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