INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE
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Towards Connectivity for All Hughes
proach@hughes.in “The National e-Governance Programme of India will help bring the benefits of ICT to rural citizens and enable to access digital services and eliminate the digital divide. Hughes’ objective is to not only provide basic connectivity to rural areas but also deliver value added services like interactive vocational education, telemedicine and e-Commerce services.” Read this and more in this exclusive interview with Pranav Roach, President, Hughes Network Systems India Ltd. What is the vision and objectives of Hughes endeavour of providing connectivity to cities and rural areas in India? How is it aligned to the goals of the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) of the government of India? Hughes is the world’s leading provider of broadband satellite services, products, and network soluions. Hughes provides 36
www.hughesindia.com broadband satellite networks and services for large enterprises, governments, small businesses, and consumers – in over 100 countries. HughesNet encompasses all broadband solutions and managed services, bringing the best of satellite and terrestrial technologies. Its broadband satellite products are based on the IpoS (IP over Satellite) global standard, approved by the TIA (Telecommunication Industry Association), ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute), and ITU (International Telecommunication Union) standards organisations. Given some key factors like – the size of our country and lack of adequate communication infrastructure in the rural areas and problems (both from a technical perspective and cost) associated with building terrestrial infrastructure in rural areas; coupled with the ubiquitous nature of satellite coverage, Hughes believes that satellite technology is best suited to deliver communication services to rural India. The National e-Governance Programme of India will help bring the benefits of ICT to rural citizens and enable to access digital services and eliminate the digital divide. Hughes’ objective is to not only provide basic connectivity to rural areas but also deliver value added services like interactive vocational education, telemedicine and e-Commerce services. Hughes is participating in the NeGP program and expects to provide connectivity and more importantly also value added services to energise the rural India. Hughes is in partnership with government and other industry plays in establishing Internet kiosks as part of the common service centres core component of the NeGP. Please tell us about this initiative of yours. Hughes currently operates broadband kiosks or centres nationwide across 250 towns and provides interactive vocational education programs, internet access and other value added services such as pre-paid mobile top-ups, rail ticketing, low-cost air ticketing, etc. In addition, Hughes is participating in the NeGP and expects to enable e-Governance services over its network. In the next 6 –12 months we expect to connect over 10,000 centres across the country. Hughes is also working with several industry players to bring digital services and the benefits of ICT to rural markets and citizens. What are some of the unique features of the broadband services being provided by the Hughes Fusion? One key aspect is the ease of deployment across the country and availability of relevant services and applications in a cost effective manner. What this means is that the broadband centers can be set up quickly irrespective of location and offer users identical experience. Satellite technology is very good for multicast applications and as www.egovonline.net
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