NEW DELHI, India-Crompton Greaves Ltd. and Pertech Computers Ltd. of India, and the Korean consortium of Hyundai Electronics Industries Co. Ltd., Dacom Corp. and Hyundai Corp., have formed a joint venture company that will provide Globalstar satellite-based telephony service in India.
Crompton Greaves and PCL will own 51 percent and Hyundai/Dacom will hold 49 percent of the joint venture company, Globalstar India Satellite Service Pvt. Ltd.
“Globalstar is particularly well suited to meet India’s growing telecommunications needs,” said N.K. Mathur, director of Globalstar India. “The Globalstar system provides early access to wireless phone service across the entire country, supplementing cellular and basic networks. Much of India is still hard to serve due to high set-up costs or inaccessible terrain.”
Users of Globalstar will make or receive calls using handheld or vehicle-mounted terminals similar to cellular phones, said Globalstar India. Globalstar will be fully integrated with and will supplement India’s existing fixed and Global System for Mobile communications cellular networks. Optional dual-mode handsets will be able to switch from conventional cellular telephony to satellite telephony as required, said Globalstar India.
In India’s rural areas, where little or no wireline telephony exists, users will make or receive calls through fixed-site telephones similar to phone booths or wireline phones said Globalstar India.
The company said it initially plans to establish three gateway earth stations, which in turn will be connected to India’s public network.
