P.J. Nath, managing director and chief executive officer, Nelco

Satellite communication (satcom) has recently come into the limelight owing to benefits such as delivery of better connectivity to rural and remote parts of the country. Further, various new-age satcom use cases have emerged in recent times across domains. Nelco, a key player in this space, has taken several initiatives to address the connectivity requirements of its customers via satellite technology. In an interview with tele.net, P.J. Nath, managing director and chief executive officer, Nelco, shares his views on some of the key trends dominating the satcom space, satcom use cases, the company’s focus areas and future plans…

What are the key trends dominating the Indi­an satcom industry? How is the market ex­pec­­ted to grow in the near future?

The Indian satcom industry has come a long way from where it started. In 2019, regulations were changed to allow aero in-flight communication and maritime communication through satellite, which was a completely new area for the satcom industry in India. A lot of discussions are also taking place for liberalising the regulatory framework for the space sector. With this, the satcom industry in India will be able to adopt the technology advancements taking place across the world, and serve many more sectors and applications in the near future. The Indian satcom industry has the potential and is expected to grow by at least three to four times in the next five years.

What are Nelco’s key focus areas in the Indi­an satcom domain? How has been the journey so far?

Nelco has been providing satcom services for business-critical applications in the remotest locations of the country for more than two decades. The company is techno­logy agnostic. Its focus is on adopting the latest technologies to cater to the needs of various customers by building wo­r­ld-class robust infrastructure to provide satcom services.

Over the last 26 years, Nelco has established itself as a preferred satcom service provider in many of the B2B market segments. With an overall shared hub VSAT base of 80,000 plus and a market share of approximately 27 per cent, Nelco is a fast-growing satcom service provider in the country. It is the leader in providing ATM connectivity with more than 55,000 ATMs on its satcom network.

Nelco obtained the in-flight and maritime connectivity (IFMC) licence in 2019 for offering internet services on aircrafts and ships in the Indian airspace and Indian waters, respectively.

What were some of the key business highlights for your company during 2021? What were the key partnerships and customer acquisitions announced by you?

The company has been performing well and is in a high growth phase. It has str­engthened its leadership position in many of the key enterprise sectors as well as the maritime communication and aero IFC sectors. Nelco also re-entered the satcom projects business and secured a contract from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for a turnkey project worth more than Rs 400 million. The scope of the project includes supply, commissioning and maintenance of ONGC’s captive very small aperture terminal (VSAT) based network.

The company has also started working towards offering low earth orbit (LEO) services in India. It has entered into a coo­peration agreement with Telesat for LEO services. Nelco and Telesat are currently offering Telesat Lightspeed™ services in India.

How is satcom enhancing the way other sectors (mining, maritime, etc.) function? What are the key satcom use cases in these sectors?

Sectors such as mining, renewable energy and construction have a presence in re­mo­te parts of the country. Satcom can play a major role in offering economically viable and reliable connectivity for all these sectors in a short span of time.

For maritime, the only available means of connectivity in the waters is through sa­t­com, be it for energy vessels, commercial shipping vessels or fishing vessels. Ea­ch of these vessels has its own applications and use cases, which are enabled by satellite communication.

There are new segments such as connected cars, which are gaining traction globally. These businesses will also come into the country at some point in time. Satcom te­chnologies are evolving at a fast pace to cater to these requirements. As such, the possibilities are immense for satellite communication in the near future.

What is the role of LEO satellites in satcom? How will they help enhance the connectivity landscape of the country?

LEO satellites are likely to revolutionise the Satcom industry globally. LEO satellites provide much larger capacity than geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites, and a much lower latency, which is similar to that of fibre. With such features, it will be possible to get fibre-like connectivity along with the flexibility of satellite connectivity, anywhere in the country.

We believe LEO and GEO satellites will co-exist, with each serving applicatio­ns best suited for its own network. LEO satellites will enable new markets and applications for the satcom industry. It will also help in bridging the digital divide in the country by providing reliable connectivity in the remotest villages.

Do you have a regulatory wishlist for the spa­ce communication sector?

The satcom industry in India has so far been more tightly regulated than the telecom industry in the country and the satcom industry in other parts of the world. A progressive regulatory environment can play a major role in giving a bo­ost to the growth of an industry. The good news is that the government is now seriously working towards modifying the regulatory framework for the satcom industry in India.

The key aspect from a regulatory en­ab­lement perspective is to facilitate de­p­loy­ment of newer technologies as required by the applications – in terms of satellite technology, baseband technology, allowing all frequency bands for Satcom, newer antenna technologies and lowering of antenna size, etc. These will facilitate new business models to emerge and help the Satcom industry to serve many more sectors and applications going forward.

What are your plans for the next two to three years?

Nelco is a focused satellite communication service provider in the B2B space and is technology agnostic. Going forward, the company will continue to adopt newer technologies, which will help in offering satcom services for a larger number of segments and applications. The focus will be on growth in both the enterprise and IFMC sectors. While the company will continue to offer services using GSO satellites, it will also offer services with LEO satellites as and when they are commercially available. As the regulations change in the country with the announcement of the new spacecom policy in the near future and/or the various recommendations being made by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, the company will adopt newer technologies and cater to many more applications and sectors. The company has also obtained the NLD licence and will leverage it to offer a large bouquet of services around comprehensive solutions for connectivity.