Open Space: Nelco and Telesat Partner to Bring Advanced LEO Satellite Network to India

Nelco, an Indian satellite communication service provider, has entered into a cooperation agreement with Telesat, a global satellite operator that has been addressing complex connectivity challenges for over 50 years. Nelco and Telesat will collaborate on terrestrial facilities, commercial distribution and regulatory frameworks to offer Telesat Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity in India.

“Considering the huge potential for Satcom services growth in the country in the coming years, we are continuously exploring the latest satellite technologies to bring better value to our customers and expand the market. We believe that our partnership with Telesat will help in bringing LEO satellites into the country, which has the potential to revolutionize connectivity in the future,” P J Nath, MD and CEO of NELCO said.

LEO satellites are poised to revolutionize the industry, and with the prospective opening of the space sector in India, Nelco, through its strategic relationship with Telesat, plans to serve new market segments and requirements for high-bandwidth and low latency applications.

Globally, the satellite communications industry has been growing at a rapid pace owing to advancements in technology, light touch regulations and an increase in Internet traffic demands. LEO satellites are poised to revolutionize the industry, and with the prospective opening of the space sector in India, Nelco, through its strategic relationship with Telesat, plans to serve new market segments and requirements for high-bandwidth and low latency applications.

“We are honoured to collaborate with Nelco, a highly innovative and respected enterprise connectivity leader in India,” stated Michael Schwartz, Telesat’s Senior Vice President, Corporate and Business Development. “Telesat LEO’s secure, high throughput, low-latency network will bring unsurpassed performance and flexibility for enterprise applications and extend the reach of terrestrial networks throughout India.”

Telesat LEO

Telesat LEO is a next generation satellite constellation that leverages Telesat’s global, priority Ka-band spectrum rights and patent-pending architecture to fundamentally transform global communications. It plans to help close the digital divide in remote and challenging locations, accelerate 5G expansion, and set new levels of performance for enterprise, telecom, mobility and government broadband connectivity on land, air and sea.

The Telesat LEO constellation will provide complete coverage of India and superior enterprise connectivity in the country, subject to the necessary regulatory clearances.

The availability of the Telesat LEO Network in India has the potential to provide significant benefits in areas like 4G/5G backhaul, mobile hotspots, distance education, telemedicine, village connectivity, as well as maritime and inflight connectivity.

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The open architecture, compliant with the Metro Ethernet Forum standard, will simplify the integration of Telesat LEO services with enterprise networks, including Nelco infrastructure and service offerings. Acting as a virtual fibre network, Telesat LEO Layer 2 transport service can deliver hundreds of Mbps to a terminal.

The Telesat LEO satellites incorporate next-generation technologies, including:

• Data Processing in Space: Full digital modulation, demodulation, and data routing occurs in space, resulting in higher capacity and flexibility
• Phased Array Antennas: Sophisticated antennas on each satellite with hopping and reconfigurable beams scan the earth to provide full coverage and can dynamically focus capacity precisely where required
• Optical Inter-satellite Links: Data can travel at the speed of light from one satellite to another, resulting in a fully interconnected global mesh network in space.

Nelco

Nelco, a part of Tata Group, was started in 1940 as a revolutionary electronics company (with many firsts to its name). Nelco is a major Satcom service provider in India, providing highly-reliable B2B data connectivity solutions across the country through its wholly owned subsidiary Tatanet Services Ltd.

It has been playing an important role in the development and growth of important industry segments like banking and financial services, renewable energy, mining, offshore oil and gas exploration etc., by providing Satcom services for business-critical applications in the remotest locations.

The company has taken the lead in offering digital communication services to both aero and maritime segments in the country. NELCO is listed in BSE and NSE and The Tata Power Company Ltd. holds 50.1% of the shares in the company.

Telesat

Telesat has grown to be one of the largest and most successful global satellite operators. Telesat LEO plans to deliver a combination of high capacity, security, resiliency and affordability with ultra-low latency and fiber-like speeds.

Privately held and headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, with offices and facilities around the world, Telesat’s principal shareholders are Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Loral Space and Communications Inc.