OneWeb, Hughes confirm India plan
January 20, 2022
By Chris Forrester
Broadband constellation operator OneWeb has confirmed its relationship with Hughes Network Systems and detailed its plan to serve India’s towns, villages, and local and regional municipalities in those hardest-to-reach areas, playing a critical role in bridging the digital divide. Hughes Network Systems is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Colorado-based EchoStar.
The agreement, first outlined in September 2021, takes the form of a 6-year ‘Distributor Partner’ deal between OneWeb and Hughes Communications India Private Ltd. (HCIPL), itself a joint venture between Hughes and Bharti Airtel.
HCIPL says it is well positioned to deliver services to enterprise and government with OneWeb capacity, especially in areas outside the reach of fibre connectivity.
Partho Banerjee, president and MD/HCIPL, said: “This announcement marks a turning point for Digital India. Enterprise and government customers, including telecom service providers, banks, factories, schools, defense organizations, domestic airlines, and offshore vessel operators, are eagerly anticipating the arrival of new high performing satcom services. We look forward to bringing them high-speed, low-latency services from HCIPL using OneWeb capacity—and catapulting India to the cutting edge of connectivity.”
Neil Masterson, CEO, OneWeb, added: “OneWeb is delighted to partner with Hughes to offer high-speed, low-latency satellite broadband solutions and contribute to the Digital India vision. OneWeb’s constellation will cover the length and breadth of India, from Ladakh to Kanyakumari and from Gujarat to the Northeast and bring secure solutions to enterprises, governments, telcos, airline companies and maritime customers. OneWeb will invest in setting up enabling infrastructure such as Gateways and PoPs in India to light up the services.”
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