The Group made its entry into the satellite communications equipment and services business through the acquisition of China Unifiednet Holdings (CUH) in July 2011. CUH is a parent company of Hughes UnifiedNet Holding (China) Company Limited, which is jointly held by Hughes Network Systems LLC, the world’s leading provider of satellite broadband for home and office, delivering innovative network technologies, managed services, and solutions for enterprises and governments. This joint venture is one of a coveted few satellite companies that holds VAS and Satellite Operating licenses in the PRC.
The Group has installed satellite access points and supplied satellite broadband services to schools and specialised institutions in the provinces of Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Fujian, Shenzhen and Tibet. Through the broadband Internet connectivity, the students in these schools, universities and institutions can access educational resources online.
This project is also a part of a larger framework agreement between Hughes UnifiedNet Holding (China) Company Limited and its subsidiaries and the Ministry of Education to extend the satellite broadband services to more than 500,000 educational institutions across the PRC.
Through the acquisition of PT. Multi Skies Nusantara (MSN), an Indonesia-based satellite operator principally engaged in the business of building and operating satellite base station controllers, the Group successfully entered the Indonesian satellite market in May 2010
As part of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology’s Universal Service Obligations (USO) initiatives, MSN and its partners were awarded a project by PT. Telkom to build a total of 1,143 USO sites. Currently, MSN has successfully implemented and provisioned 772 base-stations.
The USO project is a government-funded initiative to develop basic ICT (Information and Communications Technology) in underserved, remote areas in Indonesia. Its key objective is to extend the provision of telephony services and ICT access to rural areas nation-wide with a target of 43,000 rural villages as well as to provide access and services to local city centres, schools, health centres and households.
This business will continue to be a key part of the Group’s strategy to drive satellite communications and connectivity services in Indonesia by delivering voice, data and video communications. Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago country with more than 17,000 islands and 5 main islands, presents unparalleled challenges to traditional connectivity methods. With its current infrastructure, the Group aims to provide a full range of managed satellite communication services for telecommunication operators, government and enterprises in Indonesia.
In June 2011, the Group acquired Star Light Telemedia DC Limited (SLT DC), as part of its strategy to further enhance its ICT offerings and to complement other business initiatives in Indonesia. SLT DC has partnered Epsilon Global Communications to develop and operate an “Epsilon Global Hubs” data centre facility in Jakarta.
Located in Central Jakarta, the data centre is a carrier-neutral, capacity management facility to cater for all enterprises, ISPs and telecommunication operators in Jakarta. The facility was built and operated in accordance to TIA 942 standard with network connectivity to other major data centres, submarine cable systems and local loop providers. The Company is also constantly growing its domestic metro fibre network connectivity to other data centres in Jakarta.
The data centre facility allows the Group to offer customers a place to reliably operate, securely exchange critical information and grow their businesses. With our state-of-the-art infrastructure, secure and reliable network, and a 24/7 Network Operations Centre (NOC), SLT DC aims to become one of the leading technology solution partners in Indonesia.