Mr. A. Vidyasagar, Managing Director of Avantel, showing the first indigenously made Mobile Satellite System in Hyderabad made for Boeing to be fitted to the P-8I Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft of the Indian Navy that has been qualified by the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification. — Photo: P.V. Sivakumar

....will carry a vital and innovative mobile satellite service (MSS)-based communication system developed by Hyderabad-based firm, Avantel. Delivered will be 12 units of the MSS product to Boeing on December 26. Boeing ordered the 12 units at a cost of $1.8 million. The U.S. aircraft maker has entered into a $2-billion deal with the Indian Navy for supply of 8 P-81 reconnaissance aircraft.

“This is a first of its kind product in India and developed totally in-house. The product is mainly used for data communication between aircraft to aircraft and between aircraft to land stations,” said Mr. A. Vidyasagar, Managing Director of the company. The company had initially developed the product for deployment aboard naval vessels to facilitate communication between warships in high seas with a coverage of up to 800 nautical miles from shore. These products are used at locations where no terrestrial coverage or VHF communication is available. “Warships using HF means of communication face the threat of having their positions compromised, while VHF-based communication has its limitations, with coverage not beyond 15 nautical miles from the shore. But the MSS product has a wider coverage area and is linked only to an Indian satellite,” he said.

Avantel is in the process of developing a voice-cum-data UHF radio communication product for Antrix Corporation, the commercial wing of the Indian Department of Space, to be used by the Indian Navy. “We will be supplying 200 units of these over the next six months for a total price of Rs 25 crore. So far, the Navy has been importing this product — the cost of 200 such imported units would have been Rs 125 crore ,” Mr. Vidyasagar said. The company's promoters, who hold about 50 per cent equity, will be increasing their holdings to 60-65 per cent over the next two to three years through buy-backs. (Source: The Hindu Business Line).