Bharti plans broadband via satellite

new delhi: bharti broadband is commercially launching its satellite-based broadband service called sky mantra. this will be the second such launch after hughes’s launched a similar product called direcway. sky mantra will be initially targeted mainly at the small and medium enterprises. each sky mantra terminal will cost around rs 1.5 lakh and a recurring monthly charge which will be billed on a fixed monthly fee or on usage pattern starting from rs 3,000.the company has already deployed projects for sahara, cadbury and procter & gamble. the sahara order is for 1,420 terminals with the cabury and p&g constituting another 500 odd terminals. to start with, bharti broadband will offer high speed internet, messaging and shared web hosting services. however, it plans to expand its bouquet of services to include asp services. “we are working on alliances with software vendors to give services on the asp platform. we plan to put together these services in another six months,� said ashok juneja, ceo of bharti broadband networks ltd. the solution will eventually also be used for broadcasting or multicasting training programmes and presentations to remote locations among other applications. bharti has tied up with israel-based satellite equipment vendor gilat. gilat will also set up the hub for the company.