The Hindu Business Line : New satellite launch opens up business vistas

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New satellite launch opens up business vistas

Bharti group, ONGC, Railways among major beneficiaries

Riding high
Bharti Telemedia has taken six out of the 12 available transponders on the new satellite.
The new satellite will offer capacity to three VSAT operators, including ONGC.

Madhumathi D.S.
Mamuni Das
Thomas K. Thomas

Bangalore/New Delhi, Sept. 3

The launch of the INSAT-4CR by the Indian Space Research Organisation on Sunday will give a major boost to the broadcasting and satellite communication plans of a number of players, including telecom major Bharti Group, Railways, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and a half a dozen television channels for digital satellite news gathering (DSNG).

The single biggest beneficiary, however, will be Bharti’s DTH venture Bharti Telemedia, which has taken six out of the 12 available transponders on the new satellite. Bharti is the latest entrant into the DTH market and is expected to launch its services by the end of the year.

Others already in the fray are DD Direct, Tata Sky, Dish TV, Sun Direct and Reliance Blue Magic. While four of them are on ISRO-owned satellites, Dish TV is on the Netherlands-based NSS and Reliance is working out a deal with Malaysian Measat-3.

VSAT operations

The new satellite will also offer capacity to three VSAT operators, including ONGC, which has taken half a transponder for its internal communication. Some capacity has also been allotted to the Government for its strategic communication requirements.

A senior official in the Department of Space told Business Line that capacity equal to one-and-a-half transponders has been kept spare. The satellite would be in place for all operations by the end of September, he added.

The Railways has also got a small 9-mhz space in the Ku-band. They were not among the applicants for capacity in the original satellite, INSAT-4C, which was destroyed in the failed July-2006 launch.

For emergency

Sources said Railways would consider using the capacity for various applications that include disaster management, coaching operation information system and passenger reservation system for remote locations, and video conferencing. The Railways is in the advanced stage of procuring about 200 VSATs and plans to set up a hub in Delhi.

“In case there is an emergency at a particular site, then our present links are unable to meet all communication requirements. For instance, in case of an accident in some remote area, we can simply take a VSAT to the site and link it up to provide both data and voice flow,” said a source in the Railways.

The Railways could also use the capacity for tracking its rolling stock like wagons and coaches when they are used in the remote locations.

DSNG users

Two transponders have been allotted for DSNG operations of nearly half-a-dozen TV channels. These are for both new DSNG users and for existing ones who are expanding. “We plan to consolidate all DSNG users on one satellite (for smoother operations),” the official said.

The user is charged Rs 4.5-4.8 crore per transponder — and the ISRO commercial arm Antrix Corporation can count on around Rs 55-57 crore per year through its life of 11 years.

Related Stories:
INSAT-4CR placed in orbit
Transponder shortage looms over DTH biz

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