Hughes, Airtel Form JV, will deliver Satellite Broadband in India

Hughes Communications India Pvt Ltd and Bharti Airtel have formed a JV to deliver satellite broadband in India.

Hughes, Airtel to deliver Satellite Broadband in India

The companies will still operate under HCIPL and will combine VSAT businesses of both Hughes and Airtel. In a joint statement, the companies said that they will deliver enterprise networking solutions using satellite broadband for primary transport, backup, and hybrid implementation.

Interestingly, the companies had announced the agreement back in May 2019, and finally, the JV has received all the statutory approvals. These approvals also include approvals from NCLT and DoT.

Partho Banerjee, president, and managing director, HCIPL, said, "we are pleased to commence this joint venture, further delivering on our commitment to serving the growing demand for always-on, always-available network connectivity for enterprise and government customers.”

Banerjee also added that the company will hope to provide coverage across the country.

Furthermore, Ajay Chitkara, Director and CEO, Airtel Business, said, “with the combined capabilities of Airtel and Hughes, customers will get access to next-generation satellite connectivity backed by proven enterprise-grade security and service support.”

Currently, HCIPL has a combined base of over 200,000 VSATs. That user base makes the company the largest satellite broadband operator in India.

Hughes - A Satellite Broadband Veteran

Hughes’ first satellite, the Safeway 3, launched back in 2007. Since then, it has achieved global coverage. Normally, only 3 geostationary satellites are enough to cover the Earth. A satellite broadcasting DTH can cover entire continents – it is one-way traffic. On the other hand, for satcom, the satellite has to send and receive data. For that to happen, the satellite has to focus its transmission over a relatively smaller area, like a country. Hence, there are usually more than 3 satellites.

Hughes remains one of the veterans in the satcom industry – given that it is among the pioneers. With regard to their satellite capabilities, Hughes has a satellite network of 34 satellites.

One limitation that both of these companies face is latency. Since the satellites orbit around 36,000 kilometers away from Earth, the latency remains around 270 ms for a one-way trip and around 540 ms for a round trip. That means, you definitely can’t use this network for online gaming. Or any other mission-critical application.

While Hughes had its satcom proposal on hold for a while, it has finally gotten permission to deliver services.

Hughes, as the current development shows, sees satcom in India as more of an enterprise business than a consumer one. The company will most likely target government projects for delivering connectivity in underserved regions and cellular backhaul.