NEW DELHI: Teleglobe Inc., the satellite bandwidth provider of Canada, has
signed up with Satyam Infoway and Gujarat Narmada Fertilizer Corporation (GNFC)
to provide bandwidth for their Internet services through the Intelsat series of
satellites. Teleglobe will provide Satyam with 12 Mbps of satellite bandwidth
while GNFC will have 8/2 Mbps, where 8 Mbps will be for inbound traffic and 2
Mbps for outbound traffic.
Both Satyam and GNFC have set up their gateways that are not operational yet.
According to Teleglobe country manager Sharat Jain, "We will uplink the
traffic on Intelsat through Europe and thereafter carry it through our
transatlantic cable, Cantad."
Currently, Teleglobe provides around 91 Mbps to VSNL, out of which 45 Mbps is
on satellite. The STPI has also brought around 12 Mbps from Teleglobe during the
last six months. The Canadian company is also in the process of closing deals
with two A category ISPs although Jain declined to name the ISPs. Spectranet and
Jain TV are also in the process of closing deals with Teleglobe.
Speaking about the bandwidth scenario in India, Jain says, "However,
despite the demand for bandwidth, the fact is that transponder space over the
subcontinent is fast drying up. And the back-haul infrastructure in the country
to distribute the domestic requirements of bandwidth is not sufficient."
Meanwhile, Teleglobe has also invested $50 million in a submarine cable
project called SAFE (South Africa Far East) that will connect Europe with the
eastern part of the globe through Africa. Starting in the UK, the cable will
touch South Africa and India and then Malaysia. As Jain says, "From Europe
to the US, there is enough capacity and it was critical to provide more
connectivity in this region." The SAFE-SAT3 project will have a landing
station in Cochin. The SAFE project, which will provide a capacity of 50 Gbps to
India, is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2001.