Vsnl Seeks Partner For Global Roaming

Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) has invited domestic telecom companies to partner it in a joint venture for offering ICOs global mobile personal communications by satellite (GMPCS) services.

VSNL, which is one of the largest shareholders in the $4 billion ICO Global Communications project, is considering setting up a separate joint venture for undertaking marketing and distribution of ICO services in the country.

ICO services represent the latest in personal telecommunications and enables users to communicate from anywhere in the world using one handset with one number. ICO satellite phones provide connectivity beyond the cellular range and can be used in the remotest regions like mines, quarries, offshore oil and gas sites, ships, trains and aircraft.

 

The joint venture will be a strategic partnership with one or more domestic telecommunications services companies and will endeavour to make ICO the leading provider of GMPCS services in the country.

VSNL will operate and maintain one of ICOs 12 worldwide satellite access nodes (SANs) earth stations. The SAN, coming up at Mehrauli, New Delhi, will be the only one carrying out all three functions traffic, testing telemetry and command (TT&C) and in-orbit testing. The project is nearing completion following which India will be one of the 6 TT&C sites having the ICO tracking system. VSNL is the exclusive franchise of ICO services in India and a non-exclusive franchise in Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Mauritius and Maldives. ICO Global Communications was established in January 1995 to provide satellite-based global mobile personal communication services.

It is funded by over 59 telecom organisations from 51 countries. The project is slated to start commercial services in March 2000.