Airtel and Hughes form joint venture, will offer satellite broadband service in India

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Airtel and Hughes form joint venture, will offer satellite broadband service in India
Airtel has formed a joint venture with Hughes.Hughes / Airtel
  • Airtel has formed a joint venture with Hughes Communications India Pvt Ltd.
  • The entity will offer broadband satellite service in the country.
  • Hughes holds 67% stake and Airtel holds 33% stake in the entity.
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Indian telecom provider Airtel has entered into a joint venture (JV) with Hughes Communications India Pvt Ltd (HCIPL), a provider of broadband satellite networks and services to offer satellite broadband services in India.

Hughes will hold a 67% stake in the JV and Sunil Mittal-led Airtel will hold a 33% stake.

The entity will be known as HCIPL and will combine the Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) business of both the companies, allowing them to offer scalable enterprise networking solutions.

What is a VSAT terminal?



A VSAT terminal is a two-way satellite ground station that is used to transmit and receive data. It is used to provide satellite-based internet and telecom access to individuals and enterprise customers.

“We are pleased to commence this joint venture, further delivering on our commitment to serving the growing demand for always-on, always-available network connectivity for enterprise and government customers,” said Partho Banerjee, president, and managing director, HCIPL.
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The agreement was announced in May 2019 and has finally received statutory approvals, including an approval from the National Company Law Tribunal and the Department of Telecom.

The JV has a combined base of over 2 lakh VSATs, making it the largest satellite service operator in the country.

This comes at a time when Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite internet service has received its first setback in the country after its country director and chairman of the board, Sanjay Bhargava, stepped down citing personal reasons.
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