Hughes Communications India Private Limited, a majority-owned subsidiary of US-based Hughes Network Systems, 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.
Hughes India will enable internet service for each gram panchayat using capacity from ISRO’s GSAT-19 and GSAT-11 satellites with the Hughes JUPITER System, which is in use on more than 40 satellites worldwide. The awards are part of the government’s flagship BharatNet Programme to provide broadband connectivity to all 2,50,000 gram panchayats throughout India.
All panchayats to be connected with broadband under BharatNet by March 2020
High-speed connectivity
Partho Banerjee, President & Managing Director, Hughes India, said: “Hughes is committed to the government’s vision of enabling Digital India, and we are excited about our partnership with TCIL and BBNL as part of BharatNet to bring high-speed connectivity to the remote gram panchayats. The most widely deployed satellite ground platform in the world, the JUPITER System will deliver reliable and highly efficient service, introducing more people across rural India to high-speed internet connectivity, enabling significant economic participation and social inclusion.”
The 5,000-gram panchayats are located in the North-Eastern States, including Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, and the Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh — places that lack terrestrial connectivity, such as fibre or cable. Hughes India will provide JUPITER System gateways, solar-powered user terminals, and network operations, install the equipment at each site, and manage the service to deliver speeds up to 10 Mbps.