Hughes Communications India has been the leading satellite based communication service provider since 1995. The company was profitable from the very first year of operation and continues to grow its profits on a double digit basis. India business has been very successful in garnering the highest market share in excess of 34% with last two years market share in excess of 50% in installations in the country, says Partho Banerjee, president & MD, Hughes Communications India. Hughes has cumulatively shipped more than 100,000 VSATs in India. ?In terms of revenue, we foresee double digit growth in 2012 and growing it further beyond that, thanks to strong initiatives in government and education segments,? he tells Sudhir Chowdhary in a recent interaction. Excerpts:

What is the current situation in India in terms of broadband penetration and access to basic communications?

According to ABI Research, as the telecommunications sector is growing rapidly, broadband communications is also surging across India. The country?s burgeoning economy and the government?s broadband initiatives have supported the continuous expansion of the broadband sector. India is trying to catch up to other comparable Asia-Pacific broadband markets. Overall, the Indian fixed broadband market will continue to grow, reaching 2.4 crore subscribers in 2016.

However the broadband penetration in India , in spite of all government efforts, has fallen substantially short and there is a large un-served area left out of play by telcos, being non remunerative. The primary reason is lack of wireline network in the country and also apathy of telcos to invest in high cost wireline networks. The government has taken initiative to lay fibre to the panchayats in an effort to take broadband to remote areas of the country. Wireless medium like 4G and satellite will also add its bit to bring in wider broadband coverage in the country.

How does satellite work with other technologies to increase access to ICTs?

Today technology has evolved with time and it is seeing a period with continuous change. With better and more effective wireless services, technologies like 4G and high throughput satellites (HTS), broadband through wireless will see substantial change. Technologies like VoIP and broadband now have better platforms to transmit. VSAT in broadband is evolving rapidly worldwide, with the US setting standards and benchmarks in this area. Currently close to 40,000 new subscribers are added into broadband by VSAT in the US and growing rapidly.

Deploying wireless communications is typically among the first priorities in any emergency response, rescue, or relief situation. VSAT is being used by SMBs, banking sector, and the securities industry. The technology is also being used as a means of reducing the digital divide starting from rural telephony to rural broadband kiosks.

What edge does your company have over other market players in the field of network and communication technologies?

The government of India for its common service centre (CSC) under the NeGP, invited tenders from private players for setting up CSCs. Hughes in India played a major role in CSC initiative of government, connecting more than 8,000 rural kiosks through satellite. Major initiatives by Hughes in taking digital technology to remote and un-served areas include the e-choupal project, in collaboration with ITC. E-choupals are information centres networked across nine states to seamlessly connect farmers with large firms and global markets. Around 3.5 million farmers across 36,000 villages will benefit using the services.

These choupals are connected through VSAT and offer real time services like internet, commodity prices, education and training, direct marketing channel for farm produce, weather updates and news. Another pioneering example is digital theatres in the country, connected through satellite systems. Hughes connects more than 3,700 digital theatres in the country bringing in high quality movies to masses promptly, without piracy and building viable economic models in Indian cinema distribution.

What do you believe the future holds in terms of communications for remote communities in India?

Remote communities in India look to be more addressed through government initiatives like USO funding, National Broadband Network etc. So far, the other media like 3G, etc, haven?t been penetrating into the remote segment due to economic unviability. Satellite systems shall play a major role but cost will be one of the main deterrent.

However, government policies can substantially change the cost structure for satellite systems by allowing new generation satellite systems into India. Currently satellite services in India is severely limited due to high and inherent inertia to permit private Indian players to build next generation satellites over India. The segment is heavily controlled by ISRO?neither they are able to do it?nor they are allowing others to do it!

Where do you see the next big area of growth?

Education business surely is picking up well for Hughes in India. While Hughes started this in 2002, it was ahead of time however, it slowly started to pick up and now most of the institutes are opting for the solution. Today we see business is increasing on 25% to 30% y-o-y. Additionally we received a great response from the private organisations and corporate who want to educate/certify their employees on various courses. The batches goes upto 100 to 200. Atleast 20 programmes are launched every year based on the institutes capacity and capabilities. The biggest achievement of this is inclusion of student across the country. Hughes has made atleast R50 crore of investment in such programmes.