BBNL and TCIL Selects Hughes India to provide High-Speed Satellite Connectivity to 5,000 Remote Gram Panchayats

On October 13, 2020 Hughes Communications India Private Limited (Hughes India), a subsidiary of Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES) has been selected by Bharat Broadband Nigam Limited (BBNL) and Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd.(TCIL) to provide high-speed satellite connectivity to 5,000 remote gram panchayats in 15 states and UTs(including border and Naxal-affected areas) of India including Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram & Tripura among others by August 2021.

• The Initiative is part of BharatNet Project , government’s flagship programme to provide broadband connectivity at speeds of 2 to 20Mbps(Megabits Per Second)  to 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across India.

Provisions of the Agreement

ISRO’s communications satellites

i.Hughes India will provide internet service to the gram panchayats using the capacity from ISRO’s communications satellites, GSAT-19 and GSAT-11.

ii.ISRO satellites will use Hughes’ proprietary Jupiter system, a VSAT (very small aperture terminal) platform that is designed to provide highest possible capacity and efficiency for satellite broadband implementations. Currently, it is used in over 40 satellites around the world.

Solar-powered user terminals and Network operations

Hughes India will provide solar-powered user terminals, and network operations. 

Install equipment and manage service 

It will also install the equipment at each site, and manage the service to deliver speeds up to 10 megabits per second to the rural population, as per the deal.

General Info

i.BharatNet is a flagship mission implemented by Bharat Broadband Network Ltd. (BBNL). Government of India with this project aims to better facilitate e-governance applications like telemedicine (e sanjeevani) among others.

ii.BBNL is a  Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) established by Government of India under the Companies Act, 1956. 

iii.BBNL has been mandated to create the National Optical Fiber Network (NOFN) in India.

Additional Info

Already, SpaceX, led by Elon Musk has launched over 500 internet satellites and will start to offer services in the US in 2021.

In India, Bharti Airtel plans to offer high speed satellite internet by 2022 using OneWeb’s LEO constellation of internet satellites, with  ISRO to build cost effective access terminals.

Recent Related News:

i.On June 2, 2020 DBS Bank India partnered with Transport Corporation of India Limited (TCIL)to facilitate real time payments for truck drivers by DBS RAPID(Real Time Application Program Interface-APIs by DBS) solution to enable them to receive payments instantly.

ii.National Bank of Bahrain(NBB) and Infosys Finacle, part of EdgeVerve Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Infosys, announced that the bank has decided to adopt the Finacle Cash Management Suite to digitally transform its transaction banking business.

About Hughes Communications India Private Limited (Hughes India)
President & Managing Director(MD)– Partho Banerjee
HeadQuarters– Gurgaon, Haryana

About  Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd.(TCIL)
It functions under the Administrative control of Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Govt. of India.
HeadQuarters– New Delhi, India