Hughes Communications India (HCI) showcased the future of connectivity and networking innovations to senior officials from the government, public sector undertakings (PSUs), and defence during a technology seminar last month. Many of the innovations showcased by Hughes were made in India - supporting the government’s efforts of digital transformation within the country. OneWeb’s team had also joined Hughes. For the unaware, Hughes is OneWeb’s distribution partner in India. Speaking on the occasion, Partho Banerjee, president & managing director, HCI, said, “HCI, the leader of satellite broadband, primarily focuses on the enterprise market comprised of government, defence, banking, oil and gas, amongst others, and has deployed and manages multiple government and defence communications networks. As the satellite and telecom market evolves, we truly believe the future is in multi-orbit, multi-transport networks via GEO and LEO satellite and 5G transport to further India’s progress and advancement. We are privileged to be the India distribution partners of OneWeb and are well on track to bring low-latency LEO connectivity to India, expanding access to opportunities and significantly boosting India’s achievement of its digital ambitions.” During the Seminar, Hughes highlighted multi-transport and both geostationary (GEO) and LEO satellite technologies, including dual-transport software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) routers and satellite equipment that enables anytime/anywhere connections. The SD-WAN products, Quick Deploy Antenna and Outdoor Satellite Router, are all proudly made in India. Also, for the first time in India, the Hughes team revealed a new electronically steerable flat panel antenna engineered to enable OneWeb service. Hughes is both an investor and a technology partner to OneWeb, designing and deploying the system’s gateway electronics and the core module used in every user terminal. LEO satellite connectivity offers a low-latency complement to GEO broadband, opening new opportunities for cutting-edge connectivity in the Indian market, whether as a managed broadband solution or part of a managed SD-WAN network. Divya Sethi, VP, Commercial, AMEA Region, OneWeb, said, “OneWeb’s partnership with Hughes and our joint commitment to the Digital India vision has never been stronger. This is exemplified by the innovative new antenna that will offer an effective, scalable connectivity solution and extend the reach of our enterprise-grade broadband communications to towns, villages, and municipalities all across India – even in the hardest-to-reach places.”
