NEW DELHI, 16 February, 2006 – Indias satellite broadcasting and telecommunications industries today gave renewed support to optimising regulations for satellite services within India. A meeting attended by members of the VSAT Services Association of India (VSAI), the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) and the Global VSAT Forum (GVF) exchanged views and information with the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and Indias Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on the expansion of Indias access to competitively priced satellite communications services.
At the summit conclusion, the private sector was unanimous in its support for the TRAI-based recommendation that an Open Skies satellite services policy should be implemented without delay.
Satellite services underpin Indias communications infrastructure and have the potential to revolutionise the publics access to new and exciting interactive media and telecommunications, said Wg. Cdr. (Retd.) B.G. Bhalla, Secretary General of the New Delhi-based VSAI.
Underlying the meeting recommendations was one incontestable fact, said Simon Twiston Davies, CEO of CASBAA. There is a huge pent-up demand within India for satellite services which cannot be met in the current regulatory environment.
Broadcast channels supported by bandwidth-hungry high definition TV and interactive telecommunications services cannot be deployed unless there is significant additional satellite inventory made available within India, said David Hartshorn, Secretary General of the GVF.
During the summit, the private sector called upon the Government of India to implement a TRAI recommendation that an Open Skies policy should be adopted for DTH and VSAT operators similar to that available to ISPs. According to TRAI: DTH and VSAT providers should be allowed to work directly with any international satellite.
According to a joint CASBAA-GVF paper released during the meeting, with new supply of DTH and VSAT capacity limited to a best-case total of 36 new government-sanctioned transponders for India over the next three years, the ability of any company wishing to use Indian uplinked DTH or VSAT services will be severely limited.
The high-level meeting of more than 25 industry leaders and government officials debated the opportunities for satellite services that are fast emerging as Indias communications sector digitises and introduces new consumer services. Without change in government policy, Indias communications industry will under-perform on the promise of the digital revolution, according to the satellite industry executives.
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Click here to read the full CASBAA GVF report, India Satellite Services & Regulatory Overview.
ABOUT VSAI
VSAT Services Association of India (VSAI) acts as a central coordinating body representing VSAT network operators & VSAT users in India and associated organisations from the satellite industry in India and abroad. VSAI is also a founder member of the Global VSAT Forum (www.gvf.org), an Association with over 170 members from the satellite industry and organisations across the world.
ABOUT CASBAA
The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia is an industry association dedicated to the promotion of multi-channel television via cable, satellite, broadband and wireless video networks across the Asia-Pacific region. CASBAA represents some 110 Asia-based corporations, which in turn serve more than 3 billion people. Member organizations include ABC Asia Pacific, ABN AMRO, AETN International (History Channel), AsiaSat, ASTRO (Malaysia), Bloomberg Television, Comverse, Discovery Networks Asia, EMC, HBO Asia, IBM, MTV Networks Asia Pacific, Nokia, NOW Broadband TV, PanAmSat, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sony Pictures Television International, STAR Group, Sun Microsystems, Turner International Asia Pacific, UBC (Thailand), Walt Disney Television International, Zone Vision, JSAT, MEASAT and Shin Satellite.
ABOUT GVF
The Global VSAT Forum is an association of key companies involved in the business of delivering advanced digital fixed satellite systems and services to consumers, and commercial and government enterprises worldwide. The Forum is independent and non-profit and has a global remit. It is also non-partisan – any companies or organisations with an interest in the VSAT industry are encouraged to join.
CONTACTS
VSAI C www.vsatindia.org
Wg. Cdr. (Retd.) B.G. Bhalla
Tel: +91 (011) 335 0633
Fax: +91 (011) 372 3909
Email: bbhalla@luthra.com
CASBAA C www.casbaa.com
Rebecca Kennedy / Katie Wong
Communications
Tel: +852 2854 9913
Fax: +852 2854 9530
Email: pr@casbaa.com
GVF C www.gvf.org
David Hartshorn
Tel: +1 202 626 6881
Fax: +1 703 683 1887
Email: david.hartshorn@gvf.org