Space Jam: Isro indecision blocks DTH expansion

New Delhi: Policy paralysis has hit space. The inability of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) to cater to the needs of the fast-growing DTH sector has virtually crippled the expansion plans of six private Indian direct-to-home (DTH) operators.

Dish TV, Tata Sky, Airtel Digital TV, Reliance Big TV, Sun Direct and Videocon D2H are struggling to expand their satellite capacity or find a back-up satellite as all such files and requests have hit a dead end in the Isro’s INSAT Coordination Council (ICC).

The ICC includes secretaries of key ministries like defence, information and broadcasting, telecom, home, space and representatives from the ministry of civil aviation and the three arms of the defence forces, among others. The ICC must clear all requests for migrating to foreign satellites, sources said.

“After the Antrix-Devas deal, officials are just not willing to take decisions fearing future questions as to why a foreign satellite was approved or who all took decisions favouring foreign satellites over Isro satellites,” a senior official familiar with the functioning of ICC told FE.

Against a the requirement of 70-80 additional Ku-band transponders on satellites to India's six DTH operators which can then host 700-plus permitted TV channels, Antrix, the commercial wing of Isro, has neither been able to provide INSAT-series satellites (as mandated in DTH licensing norms) nor has it cleared files of DTH firms requesting migration to foreign satellites, sources said. As a result, existing DTH operators are operating on 8-12 Ku-band transponders each, struggling to serve 47 million consumers.

“We are ready to pay foreign satellites which are available over India. But we are not getting permissions from Isro. How can we compete with the cable industry which can provide 500-plus channels while we being national players can only provide half or even less,” wondered Harit Nagpal, CEO of Tata Sky and president of DTH operators association of India.

While declining to comment on the delays on clearance of files pertaining to migration to foreign satellites, a senior official from Isro's Bangalore office said: “Isro's role is not limited to providing satellites for media communication services. Planning and executing space mission, remote sensing, manufacturing, launching and commercialising satellites and data analysis among others are also its job. All these aspects consume a lot of time.”

“We are shortly going to launch the GSAT-5 with 36 transponders out of which 24 are in Ku-band. This will help private DTH operators like Tata Sky,” the official told FE.

Sources said not just the request from Tata Sky, but applications from most DTH and VSAT operators were pending ICC approval. “However, ICC meetings are very erratic. Even when they meet, outcomes are inconclusive,” a senior government official said.

However, DTH operators point out that Isro's role in regulating entry of foreign satellites is a misrepresentation of DTH licensing conditions. Clause 11.1 of the DTH licensing condition states: “Though the licensee can use the bandwidth capacity for DTH service on both Indian as well as foreign satellites, proposals envisaging use of Indian satellites will be extended preferential treatment.”

“The practice has been that for all Ku-band capacity, the DTH operator has to go to Isro. This practice came in force due to an error in interpretation of DTH guidelines, which had a protective clause for Isro in late 1990s when adequate capacity was available with Isro which had plans to launch more channels,” said the technical head of a leading DTH firm.

Foreign satellite operators agree. “We can position our satellite over India within a month's notice and operationalise it for a DTH operator within three months if Isro or the Prime Minister's Office allows it,” said India head of a foreign satellite operator, who declined to be identified.

Sources said a host of foreign satellites were keen to re-arrange their capacity to service Indian operators. These include satellites like ABS-1, Eutelsat, Thiacom, Intelsat, Measat, Asiasat, and SES-7. INSAT series satellites have been encountering frequent glitches too. Dish TV is operating with two foreign satellites – NSS 6 and Asiasat 5.

Isro has 11 satellites in operation, offering services including broadcasting and communications. However, its recent history has been riddled with glitches, the most recent being the failure of INSAT 4C in 2006. This satellite was supposed to provide Ku-band transponders to Sun Direct. Had that launch been a success, Sun Direct would have launched its services a year earlier, sources said.

In 2010, INSAT 4B encountered a power failure resulting in the loss of Sun Direct signals to over 60 lakh customers. As a result, Sun Direct had to partially migrate to Measat, which also hosts Reliance Big TV DTH.

Source: The Financial Express, Ashish Sinha, July 27, 2012

Source: http://cablequest.org/news/dth-news/item/441-space-jam-isro-indecision-blocks-dth-expansion.html