Essel group’s Agrani buys India beam on ProtoStar-1
Essel Group’s Agrani Telecom Ltd has acquired the entire India beam on ProtoStar-1 satellite from Bermuda-based ProtoStar Ltd. The satellite is to be launched from Kourou in French Guyana in May 2008.
Pending statutory clearances required under the SatCom policy before the company gets a satellite operator’s licence from the Department of Space, the move will fulfil Mr Subhash Chandra’s old wish to own and operate a satellite — even if a partial ownership for now.
It will make his company the first Indian private operator of a satellite.
Currently government agency ISRO is the sole domestic satellite owner and operator of its band of Insats; it leases capacity to users on its own satellites and if necessary, also on foreign satellites.
Dish TV funds
Mr Jawahar Goel, Managing Director, Dish TV, Essel Group’s Direct-to-Home service, said the capacity of 14 Ku-band transponders would be dedicated to Dish TV’s expansion plans. The Subhash Chandra-owned company is said to be investing $64 million (around Rs 250 crore) in the satellite; the company merely said it would make annual payments over five years.
By another independent arrangement, ISRO has also leased capacity through ProtoStar on Singapore Telecom’s ST-1 satellite. This, it says, is to augment its domestic infrastructure for new DTH entrants like Videocon.
The 14 new transponders would add to Dish’s current capacity of 11 Ku-band transponders on NSS-6 satellite, allowing the operator to offer up to 400 channels, said Mr Goel. The company currently offers 180 channels to about 2.6 million customers.
DTH in lead
According to Ernst and Young, digital platform will account for 28 per cent of the television market in the next two-three years, with DTH leading the services with 19 million subscribers. There are reportedly 402 television channels in the country.
DTH operators, however, complain that transponder capacity is at a premium, even as they hog 57 of the 88 transponders that ISRO provides from its own and leased capacity.
Strong focus
General entertainment is coming back with a vengeance: Viacom18, NDTV Imagine, UTV, and Turner-Miditech have all announced new channels, more than one each expected next year.
BAG Films and INX Network launched channels this year and are to also expand their offerings. There is also talk of regional and international channels. DTH operators will find it a challenge to accommodate them all.
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