‘We expect a business of 50+ crore in the next 2 years from NLD’
How is Hughes planning to leverage its recently acquired NLD license?
As opposed to telcos, we are not looking at the mainstream commoditized market, but offering differentiated services like satellite based backhauling to help companies in 3G extend their reach (both in contribution as well as distribution). Also, we will be providing terrestrial and RF based MPLS VPN services to our customers. Hence we will be able to offer them an integrated MPLS solution over both terrestrial and satellite technologies, which is a big requirement currently. Lastly, we will also partner with telcos for the terrestrial infrastructure.
What is your plan on providing backhaul service to 2G/3G/4G operators?
Increasingly, most service providers are looking at tapping the semi-urban and rural markets to keep their growth going. In urban areas, where there is a reach of fiber and fiber extension through RF, there is a good backhaul infrastructure. However beyond that, there is a strong case for satellite backhaul. Satellite backhauling could be properly exploited by the cellular and FM industry. In other developing countries, satellite based backhauling is used extensively. The mobile penetration in India is only 60 percent, and there is a big rural market which can only be tapped by using satellite backhaul.
With the advent of FM Phase III, there will be over 800 new FM stations— mainly coming up in smaller towns and cities. Satellite backhaul will play a key role in combination with satellite broadcast capabilities.
What is the kind of capacity that Hughes plans to make available for backhaul services?
For satellite backhaul, IP-TDMA has proven to be particularly useful in situations where traditional satellite technologies were neither cost- nor bandwidthefficient. TDMA backhaul is giving mobile operators a tool to cost-effectively reach new subscribers, expand coverage, and maintain an organic growth beyond the urban areas. We will provide capacity as desired using Ext-c, Ku and Ka band spectrum as required by the market.
What is the amount of license fees paid by Hughes for getting NLD license?
For getting NLD license, Hughes has paid a one-time non-refundable entry fee of ` 2.5 crore.
How much investment does Hughes plan to make in the next 2 years on NLD operations?
Hughes is investing over ` 25 crore in its greenfield Hyderabad capacity and over ` 10 crore in its MPLS network. For the satellite backhaul, it’s more a matter of operating expenses rather than capex.
What is the expected revenue from NLD services for Hughes?
In the next 2 years, we expect a business of ` 50+ crore from NLD. For the next 5 years, we also plan to grow NLD business at 40 percent.
rimits@cybermedia.co.in