Technoglitch
Core Member
Today’s launch of GSAT-15 communication satellite over India will be a big boost to DTH operations over the country, especially for HD channels, and will benefit players like Sun Direct and Dish TV.
The launch will more than double the DTH capacity of India-owned satellites over the country.
Though India gets a higher level of preference in terms of allocation of space over India’s ‘airspace’, if no satellites are launched in time, the slot will be given to a foreign operator by International Telecommunication Union or ITU.
As such, many slots over India have been given to foreign satellites due to delays by the Indian Space Research Organization in launching its satellites.
At present, a total of 76 satellite transponders are used by Indian DTH operators for carrying out their business in India. Out of this, only 19 are on Indian-owned satellites or INSATs. The remaining are on foreign-owned satellites.
The newly launched GSAT-15 will add a total of 24 Ku band transponders, all of which can be used to beam DTH services into the country.
However, the operator most benefited from the launch will be Sun Direct, with Tata Sky and Reliance DTH also potential candidates.
This is because the GSAT-15 will be placed exactly where one of Sun Direct’s two existing satellites are placed.
Like Dish TV, Sun Direct uses two satellites to ensure that it has enough capacity. For beaming standard-definition channels, it uses the satellite Measat-3, located at 91.5 degrees east. Anil Ambani Group’s Reliance DTH also uses the same satellite.
However, Sun Direct DTH uses one transponder on INSAT 4B located at 93.5 degrees east to beam its HD channels. As a result, any customer who subscribes to HD packages gets a bigger dish antenna which is capable of receiving signals from both satellites.
Dish TV also has a similar mechanism. The older, standard-definition channels are bounced off the NSS-6 satellite (95 degrees), while the newer HD channels are beamed using 6 transponders on Asiasat-5 located at 100.5 degrees. Any customer who subscribes to the HD package gets an extra-wide dish that is capable of capturing signals from both satellites.
Unfortunately for Tata Sky, the new satellite is coming up too far away from its existing satellite to be of much use. However, there is a chance that the government could move some of its existing traffic from GSAT-10 — which is located at Tata Sky’s home location — onto the new satellite. This would help ISRO fulfill its deal to provide extra capacity to Tata Sky on GSAT-10, which was launched in 2012.
Tata Sky is, without doubt, the operator most keen to get its hands on more transponders.
GSAT-15 could boost Sun Direct, Tata Sky’s HD channels | RTN.ASIA
The launch will more than double the DTH capacity of India-owned satellites over the country.
Though India gets a higher level of preference in terms of allocation of space over India’s ‘airspace’, if no satellites are launched in time, the slot will be given to a foreign operator by International Telecommunication Union or ITU.
As such, many slots over India have been given to foreign satellites due to delays by the Indian Space Research Organization in launching its satellites.
At present, a total of 76 satellite transponders are used by Indian DTH operators for carrying out their business in India. Out of this, only 19 are on Indian-owned satellites or INSATs. The remaining are on foreign-owned satellites.
The newly launched GSAT-15 will add a total of 24 Ku band transponders, all of which can be used to beam DTH services into the country.
However, the operator most benefited from the launch will be Sun Direct, with Tata Sky and Reliance DTH also potential candidates.
This is because the GSAT-15 will be placed exactly where one of Sun Direct’s two existing satellites are placed.
Like Dish TV, Sun Direct uses two satellites to ensure that it has enough capacity. For beaming standard-definition channels, it uses the satellite Measat-3, located at 91.5 degrees east. Anil Ambani Group’s Reliance DTH also uses the same satellite.
However, Sun Direct DTH uses one transponder on INSAT 4B located at 93.5 degrees east to beam its HD channels. As a result, any customer who subscribes to HD packages gets a bigger dish antenna which is capable of receiving signals from both satellites.
Dish TV also has a similar mechanism. The older, standard-definition channels are bounced off the NSS-6 satellite (95 degrees), while the newer HD channels are beamed using 6 transponders on Asiasat-5 located at 100.5 degrees. Any customer who subscribes to the HD package gets an extra-wide dish that is capable of capturing signals from both satellites.
Unfortunately for Tata Sky, the new satellite is coming up too far away from its existing satellite to be of much use. However, there is a chance that the government could move some of its existing traffic from GSAT-10 — which is located at Tata Sky’s home location — onto the new satellite. This would help ISRO fulfill its deal to provide extra capacity to Tata Sky on GSAT-10, which was launched in 2012.
Tata Sky is, without doubt, the operator most keen to get its hands on more transponders.
GSAT-15 could boost Sun Direct, Tata Sky’s HD channels | RTN.ASIA
Existing scenaro
