Press Releases

Telesat Lightspeed satellite network will deliver affordable, fibre-like broadband to bridge the digital divide across India and the rest of the world.

National and Ottawa, Canada, 18^th May 2022: Nelco, India’s leading and fastest growing satellite communication service provider, and Telesat (NASDAQ and TSX: TSAT), a leading global satellite operator, have successfully conducted their first in-orbit demonstration of high-speed broadband connectivity in India with Telesat’s Phase 1 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite, marking yet another milestone for bringing next-generation satellite communication technologies to the country.

The testing campaign was conducted from April 25^th to 29^th 2022 at Nelco’s Mahape teleport and leveraged an 85-cm Intellian parabolic antenna to connect to Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite. Over 50 representatives from enterprise and telecom companies and government departments participated in the live testing and proof-of-concept demonstration, witnessing high-speed, fibre-like performance with 35 millisecond roundtrip latency.  A wide range of cloud-based applications were demonstrated including real-time video conferencing over Microsoft Teams, as well as YouTube and Live TV video streaming.

Globally, the satellite communications industry has been growing at a rapid pace owing to exponential growth in IP traffic demands and advancements in space-based technologies. LEO satellites will revolutionise satellite connectivity and bring transformational capabilities to enterprise, telecom, maritime and aviation customers across all regions & terrains in the country. Nelco, in partnership with Telesat, plans to serve existing and new market segments to enable broadband connectivity for low latency applications with Telesat Lightspeed services.

Telesat Lightspeed is an advanced, enterprise-class satellite network that leverages Telesat’s innovative architecture and global Ka-band priority spectrum rights. The Telesat Lightspeed satellites incorporate next-generation technologies, including data processing in space, advanced phased array antennas, reconfigurable beams and optical inter-satellite links for a fully interconnected global mesh network in space. Acting as a virtual fibre network, Telesat Lightspeed MEF-certified, Layer 2 transport services can deliver hundreds of Mbps to a terminal, and multiple Gbps to a community.  Telesat Lightspeed will provide complete coverage of India and superior connectivity, subject to the necessary regulatory clearances.

Speaking on this new development, Mr. P J Nath, MD & CEO of NELCO said, “This is truly an exciting time for the Satcom industry and Nelco. With this successful test, we are confident of bringing Telesat Lightspeed LEO satellite communication services to India. This will help in addressing the need of the market for fibre-like connectivity in the remotest parts of the country with high reliability and flexibility of satellite communication. Telesat Lightspeed services will deliver significant benefits for applications like 4G/5G backhaul, mobile hotspots, telemedicine, village connectivity and more.”

“Designed for secure, high throughput, low-latency connectivity, Telesat Lightspeed will bring unsurpassed flexibility and capabilities for enterprise applications and extend the reach of terrestrial networks throughout India,” stated Glenn Katz, Telesat’s Chief Commercial Officer. “Telesat Lightspeed will help close the digital divide in remote and challenging locations, accelerate 4G & 5G expansion, and set new levels of performance for enterprise, telecom, mobility and government broadband connectivity on land, air and sea.”