LightSquared Provides Mobile Bandwidth To India's Hometown Telecom

Wholesale bandwidth carrier LightSquared has inked a deal with Hometown Telecom that lets the telecom company offer its customers branded broadband services. This is LightSquared's first agreement with a carrier that is a major player in international services. LightSquared has created a wholesale-only nationwide 4G-LTE network integrated with satellite coverage, which can be used by existing and new service providers to sell their own devices, applications and services.

The arrangement is unique because of Hometown Telecom's specialization in international services. Hometown Telecom serves the nonresident Indian community worldwide under the IndiaLD brand, which provides international long-distance service to India. The telecom provider offers monthly long-distance plans to more than 65,000 subscribers, and on a monthly basis facilitates more than 50 million minutes to India.

"Consumers will have access to affordable mobile broadband that complements the high-quality international long-distance and other calling services they already receive from Hometown Telecom," said Sanjiv Ahuja, chairman and CEO of LightSquared, in a statement.

Hometown Telecom also is expanding beyond international voice to include data, mobile, remittance and debit card solutions, with a goal of helping immigrants stay in touch with their home country by bundling basic communication and financial needs.