India’s state-owned oil companies select Hughes India to upgrade network connectivity

Hughes Communications India Limited, a majority-owned subsidiary of Hughes Network Systems, which is in the business of broadband satellite solutions and services, today announced that India’s leading state-owned oil companies have selected its JUPITER satellite broadband system to automate retail networking nationwide.

Under separate contracts, Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL) will each use the JUPITER system to upgrade network connectivity across 19,000 locations collectively to increase speed of transactions, eliminate manual interference, and deliver accurate, real-time data across the retail operations.

Commenting on this collaborative contract, Partho Banerjee, President and Managing Director of Hughes India said that in addition to driving cost savings, Hughes technology and managed services will help the oil companies take control over applications such as monitoring of tank levels at petrol pump outlets, checking and reducing pilferage, and ensuring updated pricing across all retail outlets across the country on a daily basis, enhancing customer satisfaction and achieving transparency in their operations.

The managed network solution the companies have chosen from Hughes encompasses deployment and management of the JUPITER System, including rental of VSATs (very small aperture terminal) for five years. The JUPITER system brings advancements such as wideband channels with DVB-S2X/ACM modulation, high-density gateways with lights-out operation, web acceleration/caching, advanced compression and hardware security. Central management by Hughes will ensure high-speed connectivity and uptime with 24/7 support and monitoring, helping relieve the oil majors from network management while giving them data access. The system will enable data transfers, loyalty card administration, web-based applications, and banking transactions, as well as remote viewing of outlets.

In addition to the JUPITER system, BPCL has also selected the HughesON Managed SD-WAN solution to provide application-level diversity with VSAT and 4G connectivity paths providing a stable, scalable, always-on network. The update is also expected to ease data collection from various loyalty schemes, discount schemes, and credit card transactions.