HCL Comnet bags VSAT based rural telephony project

BANGALORE: HCL Comnet has installed solar powered VSATs, enabling rural

telephony, in 1000 villages in Andhra Pradesh. The company bagged the services

order from Tata Teleservices to implement 1000 VSATs connecting villages in and

around Paderu district (150 kms from Vishakhapatnam).

This project is the first-of-its-kind in India based on the renowned Gilat

DialAway technology, which uses solar panels capable of giving 72 hours backup

without recharging the battery.






The project involves installation of VSATs and bandwidth allocation, as per the
requirements. In the first phase of the project, HCL Comnet has already

installed over 150 VSATs. The company has undertaken the hub installation,

backhaul connectivity between Hyderabad and Noida Hub and switch integration in

five days and activated 120 VSATs in a record time of seven days. Slated to

offer the services by end June 2002, Tata Teleservices is the first basic

service provider in the country to launch this initiative towards fulfilling the

USO obligation of Village Private Telephony using VSATs. The roll out plan

entails installing 250 VSATs by May-end and 750 VSATs by June 2002.






HCL Comnet, general manager Satellite Services, I V Rajesh said, "It is a
big challenge to implement a network connecting extreme rural and hilly areas

without proper transportation, in a record time - a turnkey project to be

installed and commissioned within the stiff timelines laid down by Tata

Teleservices Ltd. This rural project further reinforces HCL Comnet's commitment

to project manage and roll-out large scale networks within the committed

deadlines."






The implementation involves installation of pole mounted VSATs with solar
panels, batteries and lightning arresters, VSAT activation and voice integration

with Tata Teleservices' PSTN switch at Hyderabad through the DialAway Hub at the

Shared Hub facility in Noida. DOT has given a special permission for PSTN

interconnection to Tata Teleservices for operating this network using HCL Comnet

shared hub service on Ku band. Data services are planned by Tata Teleservices at

a later date.






DialAway technology, provided by Gilat, world's leading VSAT manufacturer, has
been very successful for rural telephony around the world especially in South

Africa, Indonesia, Peru, etc. DialAway is a low cost rural telephony solution

that provides on demand voice, fax and data services to and from remote

locations via satellite. DialAway delivers toll quality voice transmission and

represents the most cost effective solution for rural connectivity where any

other connectivity option such as GSM, radio, etc would be unavailable,

unreliable and not feasible. The system is ideal for providing public call

office, payphone and emergency telephone services in any location.






Having a total installed base of approximately 6500 VSATs, HCL Comnet has the
largest market share in the country. The company pioneered VSAT connectivity in

the country and has been rated as the No 1 VSAT service provider in India,

consecutively for the second year, according to Voice&Data’s annual nation

wide survey - 'Networking Masters'. The latest survey indicates a market share

of 50.82 percent on the basis of number of VSATs installed in FY 2001-02.