Hugh Escorts to consolidate

NEW DELHI: Hugh Escorts Communications Ltd. (HECL) is bracing itself to fight

competition with a slew of value-added services to emerge as an end-to-end

solutions provider in the VSAT segment. With a market share of 66 per cent and a

turnover of Rs 100 crore during fiscal 1999, there is some frenzied activity in

the company today in an effort to not only retain market share but to aim for a

bigger slice, if possible. Says HECL chief operating officer Partho Banerjee,

"Of the installed base of 7,000 VSATs, HECL has installed 3,200 VSATs."

According to Voice & Data estimates, the VSAT market itself is slated to

witness a growth of 60-70 per cent during the current fiscal due to the

successful launch of INSAT 3B, allowing the use of foreign satellites and the

opening up of the Ku-band. Besides, ambitious projects like S Kumars.com have

already set the ball rolling for the VSAT industry.

Recently, HECL bagged the license to become an A category

ISP. "The service will be restricted to corporate customers where the focus

is not to provide access as much as to build value around the access provided.

This will be in the form of providing ASP services, setting up virtual private

networks for corporates as well as integrating dealers, distributors and

suppliers into the principal’s networks," says Banerjee. HECL has a major

presence in the FMCG and banking sectors where it is critical to have constant

connectivity in the entire supply chain.

According to Banerjee, the industry has matured in the ERP

segment and newer applications like CRM and data warehousing are witnessing

hectic activity. And it is here that HECL hopes to make a difference to its

customers by providing such services on an ASP model. Its board of directors has

approved an investment of Rs 250 million towards this end. This is expected to

be a big step towards consolidating HECL’s presence in the sector.

To begin with, all our 175 customers are potential customers

for the service says Banerjee. "And it is not just integration of networks

but we also offer support services for our networks," adds Banerjee to

reiterate the end-to-end VSAT-based solutions that the company has to offer.

HECL’s new services will complement its existing VSAT services and help its

customers ride the next wave of enabling business over the Net.

Commenting on the factors that have hindered the growth of

the VSAT industry, Banerjee said these included lack of transponder space,

interconnectivity issues and speed limits in VSAT-based transactions. However,

recent developments are expected to ease the problem of transponder space. HECL

currently offers VSAT services based on TDMA technology, which allows

connectivity at the rate of 64 Kbps. VSAT networks are essentially closed user

groups where interconnectivity between different VSAT networks as well as public

networks and leased lines are not allowed. Once these issues are addressed, the

VSAT industry will see accelerated growth, says Banerjee.