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Media News
New Delhi, March 21
India broadcasting and telecommunications industries today renewed calls for the Government of India to optimise the regulation of satellite services to provide greater choice for consumers while taking long-term and a considered approach to allocating existing satellite services bandwidth to terrestrial wireless services such as Wimax.”
Indian and international industry organisations such as the VSAT Association of India (VSAI), the Global VSAT Forum (GVF), and the regionally-based Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) are concerned that a proposed "spectrum grab” for current satellite bandwidth in the 3.4GHz-3.7Ghz range used by Indian and international satellite operators could close down satellite services including hundreds of TV channels across India.
For instance, the largely unconsidered implications of the proposed changes could be catastrophic for news broadcasters which use the lower end of the C-band spectrum” said Simon Twiston Davies, the CEO of CASBAA. "This is exactly the radio spectrum now being given over to untried Wimax services, which could easily use other frequencies.
An emergency meeting on these issues was attended today by members of the VSAI, CASBAA and the GVF who exchanged views and information with government officials, including representatives of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Planning Commission (which reports direct to the Cabinet). The meeting covered numerous issues, including the need for expansion of Indian access on a long-term basis to competitively priced international satellite communications services.
Also in attendance was the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) which was praised for fueling growth in satellite communications that will play a vital role in India future economic development. The key role is to grow the now maturing Indian space market, while at the same time partnering with more of the worlds greatest telecommunications companies, said David Ball, the chairman of the CASBAA Satellite Industry Committee and VP Asia Pacific for satellite operator Intelsat.
According to several speakers during the meeting, satellite services have underpinned India's communications revolution, but they must be fairly, openly and efficiently allocated to operators on an even handed basis if the Indian people are to enjoy the greatest benefit. A capacity crunch has already developed that sees demand for satellite services vastly outstripping supply of transponders, and the proposed re-allocation of spectrum for WiMax services will turn a crunch into a crisis.
Today, India remains woefully under-provisioned in many areas of satellite capacity and yet we have the potential to revolutionize the public's access to new and exciting interactive media and telecommunications,” said D.P. Vaidya, President of the New Delhi-based VSAI.
Broadcast channels supported by bandwidth-hungry broadband TV, and two-way broadband interactive telecommunications services, cannot be deployed unless there is a significant increase in access to in-orbit satellite inventory for Indian users,” said Martin Jarrold, Chief of International Programme Development for the GVF.
For further information contact:
Anjan Mitra
Executive Director-India, CASBAA
Email: anjan@casbaa.com
98112 64170
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