RE: Article-Indian satellite transponders

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Satellite Transponders: Beating the Capacity Crunch

The satellite launches scheduled in the 12th Five Year Plan is expected to augment the INSAT capacity and bridge the gap amid demand and supply of the transponders for meeting the mounting requirements of the DTH industry.

The year 2013 is expected to be a turning point for the satellite industry, augmenting satellite transponder capacities across India and the Asia-Pacific region. The satellite space crunch owing to the demand for 3D content, HD TV channels, and growth of DTH operators in India had been at ease attributable to the launch of various satellites in 2012.
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ImageThe satellite industry has worked overtime to meet demand. The Indian National Satellite (INSAT) system placed in geo-stationary orbits is one of the largest domestic communication satellite systems in the Asia-Pacific region. Established in 1983 with commissioning of INSAT-1B, it initiated a major revolution in India's communications sector and sustained the same later. INSAT space segment consists of 24 satellites out of which nine (INSAT-3A, INSAT-4B, INSAT-3C, INSAT-3E, KALPANA-1, INSAT-4A, INSAT-4CR, GSAT-8, and GSAT-12) are in service.

In all, India today has a total of 311 transponders of which 217 are riding on Indian satellites and 94 have been leased from foreign agencies. A transponder can beam 10-16 channels depending on MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 technology. The demand for new channels is escalating with the already existing 800 plus channels. Consequently, each DTH provider will require about 15-25 transponders and dedicated satellites. The regulatory policies permit operators to use only Indian satellites or foreign satellites approved and leased by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

Categorical requests have been received for nearly 150 additional transponders in various frequency bands for services like digital satellite news gathering (DSNG), TV broadcasting, direct-to-home (DTH), and very small aperture terminal (VSAT) communication among others.

Presently, there are nine operational INSAT/GSAT communication satellites providing various services. Three satellites - INSAT-3A, INSAT-3C, and INSAT-3E - would be reaching their end-of-life during the 12th Five Year Plan.

For Indian communication satellites planned to be launched during the 12th Five Year Plan period, sufficient orbital slots are available. However, for one high-throughput communication satellite in Ka-band, which proposed to be launched by the end of the 12th Five Year Plan period, actions are underway to coordinate with the international agency concerned for an appropriate orbital slot. Further, ISRO has plans to coordinate with additional slots to meet future demands.

GSAT-10 Meets the Demand

ISRO saw the successful launch of its latest communications satellite GSAT-10 by Arianespace in end of 2012. The satellite has a life cycle of 15 years.

GSAT-10 has 30 communication transponders (12 in Ku-band, 12 in C-band, and 6 in extended C-band). It is the second satellite in the INSAT/GSAT constellation with a GAGAN payload; the first was GSAT-8, launched in May 2011. The satellite, 9th in the ISRO's present communication satellites fleet, is expected to boost DTH broadcasting.

GSAT-10 is expected to replace the ageing INSAT-2E and INSAT-3B satellites. India currently offers 167 transponders to broadcasters, and has taken 95 foreign transponders on lease to meet the rising domestic demand. Transponder requirements are likely to increase manifold for both commercial (television broadcasting) and social (weather services, disaster management, and search and rescue missions) purposes in the future.

The success of GSAT-10 indicates that ISRO can manufacture big satellites.

Foreign Satellite Operators in India

Under the government's Satellite Communication (SATCOM) policy, users are not permitted to directly buy or lease foreign transponders, which can only be procured by ISRO based on demand projection by India-based users. Many of India's constellations of communication satellites are close to end of life, which means that the number of transponders has to be continuously increased just to keep up with attenuation rates, and also with new demands. ISRO's transponder strength had reportedly come down to a mere 141 in the past five years or so, subsequently enhanced through some new launches and lease agreements. ISRO is far behind its projected target of 500 transponders by 2012. Large-scale leasing of foreign transponders is expensive and undesirable from a strategic viewpoint as well as by reason of difficulties posed by positioning a large number of satellites in the few slots available in space for use by India. In fact, India is unable to fill the slots it has booked attributable to lack of launch capability and insufficient satellites, and is contemplating bringing in foreign satellites.

India's present regulatory environment essentially requires Indian domestic services providers (i.e., uplinked from India, with intended coverage of India) such as DTH and VSAT services to use INSAT satellites.

The key component of DTH and VSAT services is satellite capacity, and Ku-band is the frequency of choice for all DTH and VSAT operators. Under present regulatory regime, any company hoping to provide subscription-based television services to customers in India needs to uplink from Indian territory, and further needs to use either an Indian satellite, or a satellite system approved by the Indian Department of Space (DoS). Several VSAT operators are also very keen to start using Ku-band to lower equipment costs through the use of smaller dishes.

The demand from these two market segments for Ku-band is likely to outstrip the demand for C-band within the next two to three years. VSAT operators are also required to use INSAT satellites for national connectivity or a satellite system approved by DoS, though the preference is always given to INSAT satellites.

The approval process for using a non-Indian satellite or a foreign satellite by a DTH service provider involves DoS, the Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing of the Department of Telecommunications, and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Preference is always given to INSAT satellites, operated by ISRO. At instances where INSAT does not have sufficient in-orbit capacity available for any particular service, the lease of foreign satellite capacity is canalized through ISRO. Approval when granted is usually on a short-term basis until INSAT is able to launch future additional capacity. Presently, several leases have been signed with foreign satellite operators by ISRO to cover shortfalls in transponder capacity including leases with Thailand's Thaicom for C-band capacity and with New Skies and SES Americom for Ku-band capacity.

In view of the foregoing and a regulatory viewpoint, presently the only operator capable of supplying Ku-band capacity in India for DTH or VSAT use is ISRO/INSAT. Undoubtedly, INSAT does not have the sufficient capacity to satisfy current and future demand of the Indian market. Though, ISRO has received approval to begin building additional satellites to provide expansion capacity, but these will not be available for another two to three years. According to a report prepared by Loft Communications for GVF and CASBAA, INSAT C-band capacity is virtually fully leased, with foreign operators providing necessary additional bandwidth. The total supply of Ku-band capacity is limited to 36 transponders, assuming a successful launch of proposed INSAT series satellites and its Ku-band offering is fully committed on launch with no additional growth opportunity for customers and no significant capacity available for VSAT customers. With several DTH players in the Indian market including the state broadcaster Doordarshan and increased channel offerings by existing DTH operators, the gap between the available bandwidth capacity and the required capacity is mounting rapidly.

More than 950 satellites are likely to be leased between 2012 and 2021, creating USD 145 billion of revenues for manufacturers. At an average rate of 108 satellites launched every year over the same period, these will bring more than USD 52 billion to launch service providers and represent a total of 2200 tons to lift into orbit. Keeping this in view, ISRO could start with a public-private partnership model and undertake more PSLV launches. Also, there is a need to develop more space ports keeping future requirements in mind. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has been consistently recommending for an Open Sky policy for all satellite users. However, this recommendation has so far not been accepted by the government and it is unlikely that the same would be considered in the near future. However, this closed regulatory regime severely limits the ability of foreign satellite operators to offer Ku-band services to customers uplinking from within India.

DTH firms demand Open Sky policy. Hampered by acute shortage of DTH spectrum and inability of the ISRO to service their current and future demand, the six private DTH operators have batted for an Open Sky policy from the government.

The operators say a relaxed satellite policy will help Indian DTH operators enter into a seamless contract with foreign satellites for augmenting their DTH spectrum needs without any bureaucratic delays. The operators want government relaxation on satellite norms within the provisions of the SATCOM policy of 2000. Also, operators are wary of the track record of ISRO satellites after growing instances of technical snags impacting INSAT satellites have come to the fore. The operators association has told the government that with no back-up satellites in place and no commitment from ISRO on capacity augmentation, any technical snag on existing satellites will lead to blackout of DTH services in the country impacting 45 million consumers.

Currently, the operators want at least 40 Ku-band transponders to service the 830-plus TV channels permitted by the government. Consequently, unless additional Indian satellite systems are established or an Open Sky policy is introduced in India, potential DTH companies will have no choice but to either curtail their operations or postpone them until sufficient capacity is available.

Way Forward

With a massive demand for transponders, India plans to launch satellites including GSAT-7, GSAT-9, GSAT-11, GSAT-14, and IRNSS-1. The DoS has projected demand for 794 transponders in the 12th Plan (2012-17) from the operational transponder capacity of 187 from INSAT-GSAT satellites.

GSAT-7 is a multi-band satellite carrying payloads in UHF, S-band, C-band, and Ku-band.

GSAT-9 will carry 12 Ku-band transponders with India coverage beam and a GAGAN payload. The satellite is planned to be launched during 2013-14 by GSLV.

GSAT-11 is based on I-4K bus, which is under advanced stage of development. The spacecraft can generate 10-12 kW of power and can support a payload power of 8 kW. The payload configuration is on-going. It consists of 16 spot beams covering the entire country including Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Communication links to the user-end terminals operate in the Ku-band while that to the hubs operate in the Ka-band.

GSAT-14 is intended to serve as a replacement for EDUSAT as the spacecraft is configured with 6 Ku- and 6 Ext C-band transponders providing India coverage beams.

Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS)-1, the first of the seven satellites of the IRNSS constellation, carries a navigation payload and a C-band ranging transponder. The spacecraft employs an optimized I-1K structure with a power handling capability of around 1600 W and a lift-off mass of 1380 kg, and is designed for a nominal mission life of seven years. The first satellite of IRNSS constellation is planned to be launched onboard PSLV in 2013, while the full constellation is planned to be realized during the 2014 time frame.

Proposals for the 12th Five Year Plan

Maintaining and securing sufficient orbit-spectrum resources for country's SATCOM activities will be a thrust area of the 12th Five Year Plan. It has been planned to pursue rigorously to secure spectrum for 100 additional Ku-band transponders and around 50 C-band/Ext C-band transponders in new orbital locations.

In order to accommodate the projected demand for 794 transponders from the operational transponder capacity of 198 from INSAT/GSAT satellites at the end of 11th Five Year Plan, 14 communication satellites are planned to be realized during the 12th Plan period for increasing the transponder capacity, introducing new generation broadband VSAT and Ka-band systems and new-generation geo-imaging satellites while building high-power S-band satellite mobile communications.

In terms of spacecraft platforms, I-2K, I-3K, and I-4K buses are to be adopted for communication satellites. I-3K and I-4K buses are planned to be launched using a procured foreign launcher. High-throughput I-6K, i.e., a 12 kW bus, in higher frequency bands like Ka/Ku and the technologies associated with them need to be developed. Maintaining and securing sufficient orbit-spectrum resources for the country's SATCOM activities will be a thrust area of the 12th Plan. Pursuing an objective to secure spectrums for 100 additional Ku-band transponders and around 50 C-band/Ext C-band transponders in newer orbital locations has also been under the Plan.

During the 12th Plan period, 17 PSLV missions, 6 GSLV MK-II missions, and 2 GSLV MK-III missions (including one experimental mission) are expected to be accomplished.

Overall, 58 missions are planned for realization during the 12th Plan period comprising 33 Satellite missions and 25 launch vehicle missions.

Under 12th Five Year Plan, 25 launch vehicle missions and 33 spacecraft missions are envisaged with a number of facility/infrastructure developments and technology demonstrating missions. The total proposed outlay for the 12th Plan is `55,000 crore with a Plan component of `47,500 crore and a non-Plan component of `7500 crore.

Satellite payload has to evolve from the present level of complexity that is suited for TV broadcasting and telephone trunking to a level that is required for multimedia applications. These payloads should be capable of handling tens of spot beams and thousands of carriers in Ku- and Ka-band. There has been renewed emphasis on providing satellite-based services directly to the consumers. Emerging HD content services demand greater performance from the payload to support new applications with the use of low-cost ground terminals. It calls for increase in payload power and bandwidth in a single platform. Satellite throughput or bandwidth per spacecraft is also increasing as most of the commercial operators are delivering combined C- and Ku-band satellites with 80-100 transponders.

The approach to plan preparation for the 12th Plan for satellite communications will be to augment the INSAT capacity and to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of the transponders and to maintain sufficient spares capacity to meet contingencies. Development of state-of-the-art technologies and latest application areas will also be pursued.
INDUSTRY SPEAK
Tackling the Crunch
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Paulus Chau Senior Regional Manager, AsiaSat

ImageOn satellite transponders crunch

Despite the addition of a new Insat satellite in 2012 and new supply from regional operators, the crippling C and Ku-band capacity shortage has not improved in India. The imbalance of demand and supply is not expected to significantly improve even with the launches of the four planned domestic satellites in the next two years.

On future of satellite transponders in India

India's broadcast and telecommunications market enjoys exponential growth over the past years; however, growth has been slow partly due to capacity shortage in particular within the DTH sector. It is anticipated that relaxing the restrictions on foreign operators in leasing capacity directly to domestic users will increase market activities, thus creating a win-win situation for operators, service providers to prosper, and end-consumers to enjoy more diverse and price competitive television and telecommunications services.

On USP of satellite solutions

AsiaSat provides C- and Ku-band transponders capacity that supports a wide range of broadcast, telecommunications, and broadband applications, from DTH television, content distribution, video and data broadcasting, SNG to satellite-based communications, and network services.

On value-added services of the company

AsiaSat's full transponder C-band and Ku-band MCPC DVB-S2/S platforms provide broadcasters satellite capacity and transmission service to reach the wide audience and specific target segments of Asia Pacific, for example, via the high-powered Ku-band Australasia DTH platform to reach multi-lingual viewers in Australia and New Zealand.

Through its world-class earth station in Tai Po, Hong Kong, AsiaSat also provides a broad range of value-added services to customers in broadcast and telecommunications industries, including signal downlink, turnaround and uplink, fiber connectivity, signal encryption, equipment hosting, playout service, Broadway Internet connectivity service, satellite carrier monitoring, disaster recovery facilities, 24-hour broadcast and operations center for clients, occasional use, and SNG services.

On recent tie-ups with service providers in India

AsiaSat recently provided satellite services to TV stations like ZEE Network, Sahara TV, ESPN STAR Network, BIG CBS/Reliance BIG, STAR India, 9X Media, B4U, NEWS LIVE, RANG, RAMDHENU, Living India TV, Raj TV Network, Bloomberg TV India, Kanak TV, and Dish TV DTH.
INDUSTRY SPEAK
Strong Growth Trends Ahead
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Deepak Mathur, Senior VP-Sales (Asia Pacific and Middle East), SES S.A.

ImageOn satellite transponders crunch

The explosive growth of satellite demand across broadcast, enterprise, and e-government sectors has taken the industry by surprise and given the long lead times in manufacture and launch of satellites (typically four years from planning a satellite to its commercialization); there has been a temporary mismatch between supply and demand. Clearly, the industry is at the early stage of the digitization process and emergence of new local channels is expected, the increasing availability of HD content and the deployment of ultra-HD content in the future. The demand continues to be strong and SES for its part will make the investments necessary to meet the satellite demand in close cooperation with Antrix/ISRO.

On future of satellite transponders in India

The Indian satellite communications sector will continue to develop at a rapid pace over the next few years, backed by strong growth trends in both commercial DTH operations as well as the enterprise data segment in the country. One of the interesting trends seen, in terms of technology convergence, is the growing number of consumers and enterprises in India demanding triple-play services, where broadcast and telecommunications services are offered in a single bundled package. The latest satellites are designed to achieve higher throughput on each transponder to accommodate bandwidth-intensive applications, and satellite technology is expected to continue evolving and enable the delivery of such bundled services in a highly efficient manner. Indian government has increased its focus on its rural broadband initiatives to improve telecommunications infrastructure across the country to bridge the digital divide.

On solutions offered by the company

SES operates a global fleet of 52 geostationary satellites, including four satellites - NSS-12, NSS-6, NSS-11, and SES-7 - located at prime orbital slots that serve India. SES will be augmenting its capacity at its key orbital location, 95 E with the launch of SES-8 later this year and have recently announced the procurement of SES-9, the largest SES satellite to be built for Asia on another key orbital location, 108.2 EL. SES has announced deals to either acquire or build one satellite dedicated to coverage over the Asia-Pacific region every year for the past three years as a reflection of its growing commitment to the region.

On value-added services of the company

The company offers highly differentiated content management solutions and critical platform services, such as digital archiving and encryption, to support the media customers across their entire business lifecycle. These value-added services also enable SES's enterprise and telecommunications customers to extend their networks into new markets and manage their networks according to their specific business needs.



ImageThe year 2013 is expected to be a turning point in satellite capacities over the Asia Pacific. Multiplicity of DTH operators in India and their rapid growth had created a scarcity scenario in early 2010, which has lasted till now. The failure of some satellites and delay in launches of others have further aggravated the problem.

The satellite industry has worked overtime to meet the demand. Satellite designs were modified to include India beams and orbital locations selected close to DTH operators operating platforms, and the scenario is expected to change with launches scheduled by major operators.

While satellites such as GSAT-12 and GSAT-10 have already been launched, the new satellites to be launched include ABS-2, SES-8 among others. These have adequate capacities to meet the demands of the Indian market.

Antrix, which is the canalizing agency for Ku-band transponders in India, has also started an aggressive process of procurement of leased transponders as well as leased satellites in addition to ISRO launches. The year 2013 could well prove to be a turning point for the broadcast and DTH industry. This is also the need of the hour considering the government's commitment to digitization, for which transponder capacity is a pre-requisite for all types of delivery platforms.
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Amitabh Kumar
Director (Corporation), Dish TV
 
RE: Artical-Indian satellite transponders

good info dear buddy!:tup
 
RE: Artical-Indian satellite transponders

Red said:
good info dear buddy!:tup

Thank you Red, In this article finally what we learn that ISRO Don't procure sufficient transponders for on demand of Indian market, and they created such ridiculous rules that we can't buy foreign transponder without permission from ISRO.
 
RE: Artical-Indian satellite transponders

what diffrence does it make when isro launches new satellites like gsat 12, 8 and 10 and the satellites devlop snags making it non operational
 
dino29 said:
what diffrence does it make when isro launches new satellites like gsat 12, 8 and 10 and the satellites devlop snags making it non operational

when they are launching new satellites, they call P.M,President,etc, and tell us that day " we successfully launched " this is mile stone in our ISRO's History, but from the next day we (Indian's) don't know status of that satellite. I think Even ISRO People also don't know the status, so they again make one new sat like GSAT 13 and sends it to sky for find where GSAT 8, GSAT 10 and other Insat Series Satellites. When will ISRO Succeed?, we hope GSAT 99 can find all 98 GSAT satellites in the year 2030.
 
airtel moved from an isro satellite insat 4cr to a foreign satellite ses 7, videocon uses foreign satellite st2, dish tv uses foreign satellites nss6, asiasat 5 . only govt. owned dd direct plus and tata sky use isro satellites which r insat 4b and insat 4a. isro satelllites mostly suffer from technical problems and if tata sky does not move to a foreign satellite in next few months then ultimately it will so deeper in the dark hole that it has entered
 
We have to Use Right to Information Act, Because ISRO spending thousands of crores on satellites and none of not working, And not giving any information on that satellites.
 
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