Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. has announced it has expanded its business operations in India and is now India's leading VSAT provider.
The company provides satellite-based, end-to-end enterprise networking and rural telephony solutions to customers across six continents, and markets interactive broadband data services, an official release says.
According to the May 2002 issue of India's Voice & Data magazine, Gilat captured nearly 70 per cent of the market for Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) VSATs for the period April 2001 through March 2002.
Bharti Broadband Networks was the first company in India to choose the 360E platform and eventually established for its client Sahara India one of the largest shared hub systems in Indian VSAT history, the release says. Within the past several months, Bharti Broadband Networks has secured orders for more than 3,000, 360E VSATs - including 1,420 sites for Sahara India alone.
Through the two-way VSAT network Sahara India expects to expand the scope of applications to Internet access, tele-education and news gathering. The VSAT network is crucial to Sahara India's plans to launch a national news channel and 37 independent city-based regional news stations in the next few months.
Earlier this year, Bharti Broadband launched its Skymantra-Power Internet service - based on the 360E platform - for the corporate, small-to-medium enterprise (SME) and small office-home office (SOHO) markets.
Bharti Broadband CEO Ashok Juneja said: "Indian businesses now have access to extremely robust and scalable technology that provides the true broadband experience, regardless of geographic location. That is where our Skymantra-Power Internet service excels."
In the most recent new-contract development, Gilat has been selected by HCL Comnet to provide a 360E satellite hub station and 500 VSAT terminals. HCL Comnet has also completed the deployment of a nationwide, 600-site broadband satellite communications network for the State Bank of India.
Comsat Max, another long-standing customer of Gilat in India, chose the 360E platform in October 2001 and has already purchased 1,000 units.
Erez Antebi, Gilat's general manager for Asia, Africa and Pacific Rim, said: "India continues to fulfill its promise as one of the world's fastest-growing markets for VSAT technology. With the acquisition of the 360E platform by three major VSAT service providers in India, we have completed our consolidation of the TDMA segment in the country."
