On September 13, 2019, Nelco, (National Radio & Electronics Company) a security service provider company of the TATA group, announced the launch of maritime communication services. By this launch, Nelco became the first Indian company to provide broadband services in maritime sector. This communication service that provides uninterrupted Broadband internet to any maritime vessel sailing in Indian waters was launched by Union Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology and Law & Justice Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad in Mumbai along with pilot launch of Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) system to track stolen mobile phones.
Maritime communication service
i. Features of service: Voice, data and video services to communicate between sailing vessels, cruise ships using satellite technology.
ii. Nelco partnerships: For this maritime communication service, Nelco has partnered with Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) for transponder capacity(wireless communication device capacity that responds to signals) and other partners globally.
iii. IFMC license: The In-flight and Maritime Communications (IFMC) license which was announced in December 2018 for flights and vessels(ships) on water by Telecom ministry, provides operational efficiency for people onboard in the ship.
CEIR) system pilot launch
i. Pilot project for stolen mobiles: International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) is a 15-digit code to uniquely identify a mobile phone device. With the help of IMEI number, stolen mobile devices can be easily tracked and it can also help in blocking the devices. Cloning of IMEI illegally by miscreants, may affect genuine customers also. Hence the DoT undertook a project called Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) system to address the theft, reprogramming the mobile handsets etc.
ii. TSP: This pilot project in Maharashtra will be undertaken by Telecom Service Providers(TSP) such as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd(BSNL), RJio(Reliance-jio), Airtel, Vodafone-Idea.
iii. Pilot project feature: The project provides the facility to report the loss/theft of mobile phones and blocking such devices across the telecom network so as to prevent reuse of the stolen device. Re-usage of the device by any user will also let the TSP to track the device location and also this system would reduce duplication of IMEI.
iv. Other members present:
- Sanjay Dhotre- Minister of State for Communication.
- Shri Anshu Prakash- secretary in the Department of Telecommunications(DoT) of Communication ministry, and other officials.
About Nelco:
♦ It is a VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) solution provider.
♦ Formed- 1940.
♦ Managing Director(MD) & Chief Executive Officer(CEO)- Mr. P J Nath.