Expand Your Business Globally with Airtel’s International Private Line

International Private Leased Circuit or IPLC is a dedicated, point-to-point private line connecting two international locations without touching the public internet. Airtel’s International Private Line delivers this as a secure IPLC network over owned network of 34+ subsea cables — the backbone choice for guaranteed international leased line performance.  

IPLC isn’t a VPN. A VPN or virtual private network encrypts traffic over the shared public internet, while IPLC is a dedicated physical circuit that bypasses the internet entirely. Businesses that need private, uncontended international leased line capacity for sensitive workloads choose Airtel’s IPLC connectivity over a VPN.

IEPL – International Ethernet Private Line, is a layer 2 dedicated, Ethernet-based international leased line offering flexible, scalable bandwidth. Unlike traditional international private leased circuit (IPLC) connections, IEPL uses packet-switched Ethernet.

IEPL uses Ethernet technology and typically offers flexible, scalable bandwidth, while IPLC (International Private Leased Circuit) traditionally uses fixed, TDM-based circuits with guaranteed symmetric capacity. This can make IPLC more expensive to scale to higher speeds. However, enterprises seeking dedicated, secure connectivity may choose IPLC for its predictable performance and SLA-backed reliability, particularly for mission-critical traffic. 

DPLC – Domestic Private Leased Circuit, is the in-country counterpart to IPLC. It is a dedicated point-to-point line connecting offices within the same nation. DPLC covers domestic branches, while an international private leased line like Airtel IPLC connects locations across borders with the same dedicated, secure model.

A subsea cable (or submarine cable) is a fiber-optic line laid across the ocean floor to carry data between continents. These underwater internet cables form the physical backbone of global connectivity — including the 34+ subsea cable network that powers Airtel’s IPLC services worldwide.

Specialized cable-laying ships plot a route avoiding fault lines and shipping lanes, then feed armored fiber-optic cable directly onto the seabed — buried in shallow waters, laid loose in deeper trenches. Airtel’s undersea cables are laid this way across owned and consortium routes to guarantee resilient IPLC connectivity. 

Subsea cables can be cut or damaged for multiple reasons, including ship anchors, natural disasters, and even shark bites. When this happens, as seen during the 2025 Red Sea undersea cable incident near Jeddah, traffic may be rerouted through alternative paths. However, latency can increase, and repairs may take weeks. 

That is why Airtel provides a minimum of three backup paths for submarine connectivity on every route, along with intelligent rerouting around high-risk geographies. These measures help reduce single points of failure and keep your enterprise traffic moving reliably. 

A Tier 1 ISP is a carrier that reaches the entire internet through settlement-free peering, without paying for transit and sitting at the top of the internet hierarchy. For example, Airtel is a tier-1 operator offering carrier services globally, with a submarine network reaching 50+ countries across 5 continents via 34+ cables spanning 400,000+ route kilometers, alongside 400,000+ route kilometers of terrestrial fiber in India and a presence across Africa with 75,000+ route kilometers. 

Airtel offers scalable, resilient, and reliable international private leased line services through a global submarine network reaching 50+ countries via 34+ cables and 7 cable landing stations. This is supported by strong terrestrial connectivity, including 430,000+ route kilometers in India and 75,000+ in Africa, along with 75+ global points of presence and 1,200+ interconnects. 

Airtel also offers intelligent rerouting around high-risk geographies and a minimum of three diverse paths on every route to help protect your enterprise traffic and keep it flowing under challenging conditions. Backed by a robust network and a dedicated team, Airtel guarantees low-latency performance for mission-critical workloads through 24×7 global monitoring and support.