LAHORE, PAKISTAN: HB International has signed a contract with EAST Satellite Holdings Pty Ltd for a hybrid ultra-high throughput geostationary satellite over Pakistan through ESRA, a new division.

HB International is a major Pakistan-based conglomerate with prominent telecommunications interests.

The newWAVE satellite by EAST will deliver 80Gpbs capacity in Ku and Ka band frequencies making it the biggest supply of satellite communications in Pakistan on a single satellite.

HB Chairman Mr Hasan Bokhari said of the new initiative, “We look forward to driving capacity for telecommunications up and prices down in Pakistan. ESRA will revolutionise access to the internet for all of Pakistan and especially the under-served on the fringes and outside the major cities.

“In addition, this ESRA capacity will underpin big business as well as small enterprise. We will support big data and cloud computing and provide a secure telecommunications link which is operated for Pakistan rather than being just part of some other satellite supplier’s broader picture.

EAST Founder and CEO Robert Jolly praised the foresight of Green Corporate Projects Ltd, part of HB International led by Mr Bokhari. Pakistan is underserved for telecommunications and the social and economic benefits to the more than 230million people living outside the major cities will be transformative. To access satellite telecommunications at a better price is also key to the benefits to be delivered by ESRA through the newWAVE satellite.

“We have struck up a strong relationship with ESRA which is indicated by their commitment to a whole of life satellite deal for 100% of off-take capacity. It is a fresh model in comparison to the former “build it and they will come” format in the satellite industry, which still persists in some quarters, today.

“At EAST we are market-driven rather than engineer-driven and we see that is the future. Although I must say we are delivering remarkable technical elements too, it is just that our newWAVE technology is meeting demand rather than creating unmet supply,” he said.

“Both the HB International – through ESRA – and EAST are working closely in a collaborative style to bring to market a new era in South Asian satellite comms,” he said.