NXTDigital and Thaicom ink MOU for broadband-over-satellite in India

• NXTDIGITAL LIMITED (NDL) and THAICOM PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED, Thailand (Thaicom) today made a joint announcement of having signed a binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to form a strategic partnership to enter the Broadband-over-satellite market and related services in India.
• Thailand’s Thaicom is one of the leading satellite operators in the world and NXTDIGITAL is the media and digital vertical of the Hinduja Group and India’s leading digital platforms company, connecting over 5 million customers across 4,500 pin codes.
• The partnership focuses on providing broadband-over-satellite and related services in India. This will include a possibility for future deployment of additional capacity on a new state-of- art software defined high-throughput satellite over India, to augment the existing operational IPSTAR-1 satellite.
• MOU includes a discussion on possible partnership in OneOTT Intertainment Limited (OIL), the broadband subsidiary of NDL and India’s fourth largest private ISP with over 1 million customers.
• MOU includes global emerging solutions for India ranging from Satellite AI solutions comprising space-based data technologies for agriculture and natural resource management to public WIFI and drones for augmenting rural digital solutions. NDL and Thaicom will also look to setting up a Centre for Excellence to develop new satellite and related digital based technologies using artificial intelligence and analytics
• Service will focus on providing cost-effective and quality broadband to not only rural markets but also underserved regions facing connectivity challenges. The BoS (Broadband over Satellite) solution will give a boost to delivering education, information, entertainment, health and other services to these markets.

NXTDIGITAL LIMITED (NDL) and THAICOM PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED, Thailand (Thaicom) today made a joint announcement of having signed a binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to form a strategic partnership to enter the Broadband-over-satellite (BoS) market and related services in India. The MOU envisages a partnership that includes deployment of BoS systems on India-focused capacity, which could be enhanced to provide future additional capacity on a state-of-art software-defined high throughput satellite; augmenting the existing IPSTAR-1 that is the first broadband satellite in the world and operational over India since several years. Partnership could also be in OneOTT Intertainment Limited (OIL), the broadband subsidiary of NDL and India’s fourth largest private ISP with over 1 million customers and a presence in 150+ cities and towns.

Thaicom and NDL will look to provide BoS services immediately on IPSTAR-1 - focusing mainly on the rural footprint of India, comprising 60% of NDL’s customers, through the only HITS (Headend-In-The- Sky) platform in India. The BoS service will focus on providing cost-effective and quality broadband and will give a tremendous boost to delivering education, information, entertainment, health and other services to these markets. It will also look to complement the existing broadband delivery technologies and broadband penetration of NDL’s broadband subsidiary, OIL. The details of partnership elements are being discussed and will be documented in definitive agreements between Thaicom and NDL.

Says Patompob (Nile) Suwansiri, Director and Chief Executive Officer at Thaicom Public Company Limited “We are delighted to ink this MOU with NXTDIGITAL, which is easily one of the best digital