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India's Dream Beam Satellite Operators Target India by Mark Long Portions of this
article first appeared in the © copyright 1997 Mark Long. All Rights Reserved. |
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Dateline Asia 
With India's population rapidly approaching the one billion mark, it is no surprise that satellite operators and programmers world-wide have set their sites on the world's largest open market for direct-to-home (DTH) satellite TV services. For years now, large C-band satellite dishes have been sprouting up across the Indian subcontinent like mushrooms. Hundreds of thousands of Indian homes now receive satellite TV broadcasts directly, while millions of additional households watch satellite TV programming courtesy of their local cable TV operators.
India's love affair with satellite TV began as the result of widespread dissatisfaction with the limited programme fare offered by Doordarshan, India's national TV broadcaster. Governmental policy, which long prevented any indigenous competition on the terrestrial airwaves, forced aspiring Indian TV competitors to use foreign satellites as a way to circumvent the Indian broadcasting laws.
During the past three years, more than twenty independent channels for India began broadcasting TV programmes in various local languages, including Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu. All of these new services have been uplinked from locations outside of India to prevent the national government from exerting control over their operations. But that's about to change.
India's parliament is now considering a new broadcasting bill which will establish licensing requirements for these new C-band satellite TV channels as well as for new digital DTH channels now at the starting gate. The Indian Broadcasting Bill reportedly will include a provision mandating that all satellite services for the Indian market be uplinked from within the country and be carried by India's Insat domestic satellite system whenever possible. The existing Insat satellite system, however, does not have the high-power Ku-band capacity that the new digital DTH services will require to make tiny 60cm antennas a reality in India. Several foreign owned Ku-band satellite systems are now poised to begin providing service into the subcontinent. The following article delineates the abilities of each of these systems as well as outlines a few of the technical obstacles which will be encountered along the way.
India DTH Contenders Satellite Comparison Chart
AsiaSat3
K-TV Hot Bird
Measat 1
PAS-4
PAS-7
Thaicom 3
Spacecraft Design
Hughes HS-601
TBD
Hughes HS-376
Hughes HS-601
Loral Spacebus
Aerospatiale 3000A
Orbital Location
105.5 East
95 East
91.5 East
68.5 East
68.5 East
78.5 East
Launch Date
late 1997
late 1998
13/1/96
3/8/95
early 1998
16/4/97
Mission Lifetime
15 years
TBD
12 years
15 years
15 years
14 years
Launch Vehicle
Proton D-1-e
TBD
Ariane 4
Ariane 4
Ariane
Ariane 4
Ku-band Payload
16 x 54 MHz
30 x 36 MHz
5 x 54 MHz
8 x 54 MHz
16 x 27 MHz
14 x 36 MHz
17 x 54 MHz
2 x 64 MHz
India Transponder Availability
8 x 54 MHz
TBD
2 x 54 MHz
8 fixed
4 switched
TBD
3 fixed
4 switched
India downlink
beam EIRP
44 - 52 dBW
49 - 54 dBW
44 - 53 dBW
40 - 50 dBW
TBD
44 to 51.5 dBW
India's Current Contenders
PanAmSat's PAS-4 & PAS-7. PanAmSat was the first regional satellite TV operator to target India with a high-power Ku-band spot beam. On August 3, 1995, Arianespace launched PanAmSat’s PAS-4 satellite on its way to an orbital assignment of 68.5 degrees east longitude over the Indian Ocean. Out of a total of twenty-four Ku-band transponders carries aboard this spacecraft, eight are fixed to a high power spot beam centred over the Indian subcontinent. What’s more, an additional four transponders can be switched to coverage of India by ground command.
On March 26, 1997, PanAmSat announced that PAS-4 would serve as the transmission platform for STAR TV's new digital DTH bouquet for India. Known as ISkyB, the new service will use seven Ku-band transponders feeding the Indian spot beam. Reception in India will be possible using antennas as small as 65cm in diameter.
At the time of writing, PAS-4 already was carrying test transmissions of ISkyB's new digital Indian bouquet with an MPEG-2 data stream of 20 Msym/sec and a forward error correction (FEC) rate of 1/2. PanAmSat also has plans to launch a second Indian Ocean satellite called PAS-7 in early 1998. This new spacecraft, which will be collocated with PAS-4 at 68.5 degrees east longitude, will carry fourteen additional Ku-band transponders powered by 100-watt amplifiers. As many as twelve of these transponders will be able to switch to an India spot beam. One distinct advantage of satellite collocation is that a single fixed dish will be able to instantaneously receive services from both spacecraft.
Murdoch's Beam Dream or Nightmare? Following the initial publication of this article, the Indian national government announced that it would not permit any broadcaster to offer Ku-band digital DTH services in India until after the Indian Broadcasting Draft Bill now under discussion had been approved by the country's parliament. This decision effectively prohibits Rupert Murdoch's India Sky Broadcasting (ISkyB) service on PAS-4 from switching from a demonstration phase to a fully operational service. Murdoch, who had already committed a reported US$ 300 million in PAS-4 transponder leasing fees and associated costs, responded to this latest road block to his beam dreams by suing the government in an Indian court. Long-time India watchers have expressed serious doubts as to whether India will ever allow a foreign broadcaster to obtain a foot-hold into the Indian domestic TV market.
Measat 1 & Measat 3. On January 13, 1996, the first Malaysian East Asian Satellite was launched to an orbital assignment of 91.5 degrees east longitude. Measat 1 carries five active Ku-band transponders, three of which currently are providing digital DTH services to more than 100,000 Malaysian households. The two remaining transponders connect to a high-powered spot beam boresighted onto India.
Measat representatives reportedly have held discussions with Indian state broadcaster Doordarshan concerning a joint DTH venture in India using the Measat 1 spacecraft and a "Measat India" test service currently is up and running on the satellite's India beam, with an MPEG-2 data stream of 30 Megasym/sec and a forward error correction (FEC) rate of 7/8.
A third Measat satellite, which is now in the final planning stages, will be collocated with Measat 1 at 91.5 degrees east longitude in 1998. At the time of writing, no further information was available concerning its intended Ku-band coverage zones.
To access further information on the Measat satellite system, including all of the available downlink coverage maps, see the Measat Satellite article which appears in the MLE web site's Satellite TV Archives section.
Thaicom 3. On April 17, 1997, Thailand's third domestic communications satellite was launched to an orbital assignment of 78.5 degrees east longitude. Thaicom 3 carries a total of nineteen Ku-band transponders, three of which are fixed to a steerable spot beam centred over India. The satellite operator also has the option of switching an additional four transponders from coverage of Thailand to coverage of India.
In July of 1995, Thaicom satellite operator Shinawatra Satellite Public Co. Ltd. announced that it intended to target the Indian market with minimum of three transponders on Thaicom 3 which could provide sixty to seventy digital satellite TV channels into antennas as small as 60cm in diameter. At that time, the Thaicom satellite system had just become the first in the world to offer a DVB-compliant, digital MPEG-2 programming bouquet for DTH customers. Confident of its ability to transport it newly found digital expertise into the Indian market, Shinawatra began contacting potential Indian investors with an eye to creating a consortium that would offer digital DTH in India. Shinawatra is continuing its negotiations with potential Indian partners and hope to make a announcement concerning the service in the near future.
Since this article was first published, Shinawatra Satellite has begun to transmit TV services for India using extended C-band transponder capacity on Thaicom 3. Current occupants include Vijay and Raj. Demonstrations of a new service for India called Punjab TV also have been observed. To access further information on the Thaicom satellite system, including all of the available downlink coverage maps, see the Thai Satellite Ways article which appears in the MLE web site's Satellite TV Archives section.
Waiting in the Wings
INTELSAT recently finalised its plans to construct, launch and operate its own dedicated Ku-band DTH satellite for Asia called K-TV Hot Bird. Scheduled for launch in late 1998 to 95 degrees east longitude, K-TV will feature several high-powered spot beams, including one targeting India. Recent reports indicate that INTELSAT has already booked the entire available capacity on this satellite.
Bangkok-based ABC Network, which holds a concession granted by the government of Laos to operate a satellite system, is continuing work on its LaoStar DTH satellite project. The first LaoStar spacecraft, which is scheduled for a 1998 launch to 116 degrees east longitude, will provide Ku-band DTH services to Asian countries by means of three high-power spot beams targeting East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent, respectively.
Since the publication of this article, Sondi Limthongkul's M Group media empire sold a major stake in its holdings of ABC Network to Bangkok-based United Communications due to the financial difficulties associated with Thailand's recent economic turmoil. Ucom will have its hands full in launching the LaoStar satellite project in the face of stiff competition from Shinawatra Satellite which already has three satellites in orbit and a fourth now under construction.
Which Spot is Hot?
Satellite signals are microwaves which exhibit many of the characteristics of visible light. Like a flashlight beam, a satellite downlink footprint concentrates the available energy so that the signal is strongest at beam centre, then tapering off to lower levels towards the beam edge. Satellite designers adjust the size of the beam to optimise signal strength and tailor the beam shape to maximise signal levels over areas with a high population density. The effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) contours within any one beam (expressed in decibels referenced to one watt of power, or dBW) is therefore a function of transponder amplifier power, the size of the coverage area and beam shape. No two satellite beams are identical.
One of the basic criteria of Ku-band DTH is that antennas as small as 60 to 65cm can be used toward the edge of the coverage beam. A minimum satellite EIRP of 47 dBW is typically required under clear sky conditions if the small DTH dish is going to consistently perform well in the field. Not all of the available spot beams for India will produce an EIRP of 47 dBW at ALL locations in India. In outlying areas, larger antennas may be required to provide the equivalent service that a 60cm dish can deliver at locations toward the centre of the beam.
Rain Outages
There is one major drawback to Ku-band DTH operations: rain, snow or even rain-filled clouds passing overhead can measurably reduce signal intensity. The wave length of Ku-band satellite signals is so short that rain droplets are able to absorb and de-polarise these microwave signals as they pass through the lower layers of the Earth's atmosphere. All DTH receiving systems are designed so that a signal “margin” of several dB is available beyond the receiver’s minimal operating requirements. This margin allows the receiver to continue functioning whenever the rain causes the incoming signal to fade down. Therefore, the higher the satellite EIRP at a given location, the better its ability to overcome rain fades whenever they occur.
Rain outages typically are very short in duration and most often occurs in the afternoons rather than during the prime time evening viewing hours. For most Ku-band satellite TV viewers, these service interruptions will only amount to the loss of a few hours of viewing time over the course of any year. Although the occurrence of rain fades in India will not be nearly as prevalent as in Southeast Asia, which is located in the world's highest rain rate area, it is still a factor which must be included in any DTH operator's plans.
The Indian subcontinent
straddles two distinct zones on standard world climate maps. Northern India is located in Rain Zone K, which experiences Ku-band rain fades which exceed 12 dB just 0.1% of the time, or less than nine hours annually. Southern India, however, is located in Rain Zone N, where a rain fade of 15 dB or higher will occur 0.3% of the time, or more than 26 hours annually.
All of the proposed DTH services for India intend to use digital video compression in order to maximise the number of channels which each satellite transponder can provide. The digital IRD operates just like a light switch: either on or off. The digital IRD will continue to provide a perfect picture until the amount of rain fade exceeds the unit's built-in signal margin, at which point the receiver will cease to function entirely. This is far different from traditional analogue reception, where the receiver will continue display a noisy picture during light to moderate rain fades. Prospective Indian DTH operators will have to spend some time in educating the public so that viewers are fully aware of this phenomenon. Installers also will have to learn to peak antenna performance while using a signal meter as the quality of the digital TV picture itself will not vary as a function of signal strength.
High in the Sky
Another basic criteria of DTH reception is that the satellites should be located at points which are relatively high in the sky. Like visible light, microwaves travel in a straight path along the line of sight. Any natural or man-made obstructions directly between the satellite and the receiving antenna will preclude reception. This is especially important in urban areas where there is a prevalence of tall buildings, in a dense forest or amidst mountainous terrain. The best satellite orbital locations will be within 20 degrees of the site's longitude.
A longitude of 78 degrees nicely splits the Indian subcontinent in half. Thus Thaicom 3 will provide the highest antenna elevation angles of any of the above mentioned satellite systems. Keep in mind, however, that even AsiaSat 3, which located more than 25 degrees away from the Indian subcontinent's central meridian, will be able to provide relatively high dish elevation angles in the major Indian cities of Bangalore (54.5 degrees), Bombay (46.8 degrees), Calcutta (57.3 degrees), Madras (57.1 degrees) and New Delhi (44.4 degrees). DTH platforms such as LaoStar, which will be located more than 35 degrees away from India's central meridian, will provide less attractive antenna elevation angles.
And the Winner Is?
The clear winner among the current crop of satellite operators is PanamSat. The company already has succeeded in leasing its Ku-band transponders for the Indian market to STAR TV. The Thaicom 3 and AsiaSat 3 satellites feature steerable beams which can be re-pointed if their respective Indian gambits don't play out according to plan. The stakes for Measat are a little higher because Measat 1’s Ku-band capacity for India is tied to a fixed beam over India.
At this point in time, the clear loser is Rupert Murdoch, who has invested in a bevy of PAS-4 Ku-band transponders that are tied to an India-only coverage beam. Murdoch currently is making noises in the Indian courts but most observers believe that he has little chance of doing anything there except increasing the angst of the Indian government officials who are now in power. My suggestion to Mr. Murdoch: use the capacity on PAS-4 to allow India's burgeoning computer market to gain high-speed Internet access to the World-Wide Web.
As far as who will eventually succeed in the programming arena, the jury is still out. Indonesia was initially viewed as an attractive potential market for digital DTH. That Southeast Asian country, which has a population of 260 million people, also has a universe of 500,000 C-band satellite dishes already in place. After more than a year of intense effort, however, the country’s digital DTH operator Indovision yet to really get off the ground. As ABN executive Christopher Graves pointed out during the ASEAN Cable & Satellite TV Forum held last May in Singapore, both the size of India's emerging middle class and the amount of disposable income which it represents remain ephemeral pieces of data. At the present time, Indian satellite TV viewers have access to dozens of channels which are broadcast in the clear. It may take a concerted effort on the part of the programmers to encrypt their C-band services before Indian satellite TV viewers will consider subscribing to new digital DTH programming bouquets.
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