Bridging the gap between connectivity and compute at scale

As the demand for digital infrastructure in India shifts from basic storage to high-density AI processing, the role of the data centre has evolved into a strategic backbone for national and global growth. Enterprises and hyperscalers are transitioning from experimental pilots to massive production-scale AI. As a result, the demands on data centres have moved beyond simple space and power to a complex trifecta of low-latency connectivity, extreme power density, and sustainable engineering.

In this interview, Ashish Arora, CEO of Nxtra by Airtel, discussed the integration of nationwide fibre networks with next-generation data centres. It breaks down the engineering reality of supporting workloads that require 10x the power of traditional systems while maintaining a commitment to 100% renewable energy and a net-zero future by 2031.

How does Airtel’s network footprint change what Nxtra can deliver for enterprises and hyperscalers?

Leveraging our strong backbone of Airtel’s global submarine cable assets, along with an extensive nationwide fibre and 5G network deeply integrated across our 14+ large and 120+ edge data centres, we deliver truly end-to-end, predictable, low-latency, carrier-grade digital infrastructure at scale. Through a rich peering ecosystem, we empower low-latency international data exchange, enabling seamless global connectivity for data-intensive and latency-sensitive workloads.

Hyperscalers, unicorns, banks, and large enterprises are scaling from pilots to production AI platforms, with power densities reaching 5–10x those of traditional environments.

Powered by AI to ensure system health, seamless operations, and strong security, and backed by Airtel’s resilient network, we enable multiple disaster recovery options, ensuring uninterrupted connectivity at all times. This combined footprint and network strength is our distinctive USP, positioning us as the platform of choice for mission-critical, at-scale, digital-first deployments.

For our customers, this translates into faster, secure, and future-ready expansion across India, with quicker deployment of AI, cloud, and content workloads through a single, reliable platform.

For end users, it delivers more reliable digital experiences, faster application performance, and superior quality of service across channels, driving higher engagement, productivity, and brand trust.

What AI-related demand is visible today in India: training, inference, or platform modernisation, and how are you provisioning for it?

India’s AI demand is widespread and scaling rapidly, driven by high-density training workloads, large-scale inference, and parallel platform modernisation across sectors. Hyperscalers, unicorns, banks, and large enterprises are scaling from pilots to production AI platforms, with power densities reaching 5–10x those of traditional environments. To support this rapid scale-up, Nxtra data centres are built intelligently by design, with a modular architecture that allows AI workloads to scale quickly.

Our core facilities have already transitioned to running on renewable power alternatives, and we are a member of RE100, committing to 100% renewable electricity.

They are equipped with high-density racks, liquid-ready cooling, and low-carbon resilient power, with capacity being expanded to 400 MW. We also leverage AI to drive predictive operations, energy optimisation, and superior service delivery, enabling customers to innovate faster on a reliable, scalable, AI-native platform to build their AI future.

How are you securing reliable power at scale, and how do you balance reliability with renewable growth?

Ensuring reliable yet sustainable power at scale is foundational to our business. Our hyperscale facilities are engineered with dedicated onsite substations to deliver high-quality, resilient power with minimal transmission losses, while enabling high-density provisioning aligned with evolving scale requirements. All requisite power sanctions are secured from the relevant government authorities, ensuring long-term power availability and compliance.

Built intelligently and green by design, our infrastructure delivers consistent, high uptime (24x7x365) for mission-critical and AI-intensive workloads. At the same time, we leverage AI to continuously optimise operations, driving greater efficiency and resilience across our facilities.

In parallel, we are rapidly scaling renewable energy adoption. Our core facilities have already transitioned to running on renewable power alternatives, and we are a member of RE100, committing to 100% renewable electricity. We are the 14th Indian company, and the only data centre player globally, to make this commitment. Additionally, we have pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2031 and have secured a significant portion of our solar-wind hybrid capacity through long-term partnerships.

This balance is achieved by treating reliability and sustainability as a single, integrated design principle, combining ISTS-backed hybrid renewable projects for near real-time green power, a robust grid with intelligent backup for continuity, and AI-driven efficiency to make every megawatt more reliable while reducing carbon impact.

What are the two sustainability metrics you track most closely, and what targets have you set for 2026–27?

At Nxtra, sustainability is embedded in our operating model and anchored around two core priorities: first, how decarbonised and future-proof our growth is, and second, how productive and efficient every megawatt of capacity we deploy is. We simultaneously track how quickly we are decoupling growth from emissions and reducing the energy needed to deliver a unit of compute, ensuring scale is achieved with progressively lower energy and carbon intensity.

In FY 2024–25, we achieved a 9% reduction in YoY Scope-2 emissions compared to 2021, while contracting three times the renewable energy, even as overall electricity consumption increased. Looking ahead to 2026–27, we aim to materially reduce our carbon footprint while strengthening energy efficiency, guided by our SBTi-aligned decarbonisation pathway and accelerated adoption of renewable energy. This is in line with our broader commitments to achieve net-zero emissions by 2031 and transition to 100% renewable energy under our RE100 pledge. This means designing every new build, every upgrade, and every operational decision around the strong pillar of delivering high performance with lower carbon impact, so that our customers can leverage our performance-led, planet-positive platform to scale with confidence and a clear conscience.

What are the top three questions CIOs should ask a provider today to avoid marketing claims and get to engineering reality?

Enterprises today are looking for a converged solution that unifies network, cloud, and cybersecurity to address their corporate requirements while unlocking additional synergy benefits.

Firstly, they should understand the design basis of the data centre infrastructure and how reliability and resilience are engineered into the core of the facility.

By integrating global submarine cables with a nationwide 5G and fibre footprint, the data centre is evolving from a storage silo into a high-speed engine for international data exchange.

Secondly, they should assess the modern technologies adopted within the data centre and understand how these deliver measurable, quantitative advantages over traditional infrastructure across efficiency, performance, and scalability.

Thirdly, and most importantly, they should assess whether the provider is fundamentally designed for sustainable efficiency, delivering high performance with a structurally lower long-term environmental footprint and cost.

punams@cybermedia.co.in