Increasing number of local and regional television channels, liberalization of foreign investment regime, and the transition from MPEG 2 TO MPEG 4 technology drive the earth stations market in India. (Research conducted in September 2008)

Investments in earth station installations in India are on an upswing. The success is attributed to the positive role played by the government in the broadcast sector and increasing number of local and regional channels in the country.

Some of the major players in this segment include Arraycom, Essel Shyam, Indiasign, Rtronix, and Zee Networks, Aimil, Amplus Communication, Andrew Telecommunications, Bharat Electronics, Essel Shyam Communication, HCL Infosystems, Horizon Broadcast Electronics, Indiasign, Lamhas Satellite Services, Miteq, Noida Software Technology Park, Richardson Electronics, and Trans-Image Corp.

Arraycom is one of the leading system integrators for earth station installations in India. Arraycom has undertaken a project for Doordarshan which includes supply, installation, testing, and commissioning (SITC) of the complete earth station. This project is a digital uplink facility in 10+1 configuration. The company executed another project for Doordarshan for DTH upgradation for spectrum efficiency.

Essel Shyam Communications Limited is a leading system integrator, having its own state-of-the-art teleport located in Noida.

Indiasign, an ISO 9001:2000 certified company, provides a range of broadcast services and solutions. The company provides integration services for earth stations from single channel to multiple channels and fixed site contribution networks. The company has been providing state-of-the art solutions to broadcasters.

Rtronix with its experience in designing comprehensive teleports for digital channel uplinking, offers tailor-made solutions for customers to meet their transmission demands.

Zee Networks has undertaken several projects for its new technology "headend in the sky" (HITS) that include earth station installations for Dish TV.

The new trends emerging in earth station installations as compared to previous years include:

Change from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 technology. MPEG standards have made it possible for cost effective transmission of video. Individual objects within a scene are tracked separately and compressed together to create an MPEG-4 file. This results in very efficient compression that is scalable from low bit to very high bit rates. It also allows developers to control objects independently in a scene and therefore introduce interactivity.

Change from DVB-S to DVB-S2 technology. DVB-S2 goes beyond the original to offer benefits such as higher throughputs, better coding efficiency, and improved satellite resource utilization. The new technology dramatically improves utilization of the available satellite bandwidth to the extent of 20 percent. The combined effort of using MPEG-4 along with DVB-S2 results in reduction of bandwidth to an extent of 50 percent.

Faster growth of Indian economy, especially for the media and entertainment sector, increasing number of television channels, rise of DTH industry, upgradation of technologies, and more foreign direct investments in India would assure system integrators of getting more projects that would ultimately drive the earth station installations in India. A key driver for growth of installations of earth stations in India is increasing number of TV channels which require a teleport set up. The present trends in this segment are the shift from MPEG-2 technology to MPEG-4 technology, from DVB-S to DVB-S2, and from traveling wave tube amplifiers to solid state power amplifiers. With the latest technologies, the management and monitoring for uplinking and downlinking have become easier. Other key growth drivers for earth station installations in India include faster growth of Indian economy, government's recognition of the importance of the broadcast sector, liberalization of foreign investment regime, exponential growth in Indian media and entertainment sector, increase in regional channels, and new technologies.

The new DSNG antenna system has been developed with keeping reporters in mind. It does not require technicians in the team, as the satellite connection system is automatic and practical to use. Antech Lambda is the first organization to start manufacturing of complete antenna system in India and will certainly support integrators and service providers with its cost effective and readily available after sales support.

Both TV via Internet and TV via satellite are going through a flash of noteworthy growth. TV via Internet will grow to 7 percent till 2012, while TV via satellite will reach 24 percent. In the developing countries, the figure of private users of TV via satellite will get double in the next 3 years. The market potential is very immense. The growth trend invites to invest bigger resources that enable broadcast managers and journalists in particular to take the market opportunity and to combine professionalism and need for information with the use of innovative transmission equipment.

Its flexibility makes the system particularly suitable for the needs of quick operation and immediacy that journalists and cameramen have to respect in order to seize the dramatic force of an event.

It is worth noting that given the nature of this system its application scenarios are many and varied, including, of course, journalism. In fact, because among the various applications of this system there is the capability of providing in a few minutes for the lack of fixed TLC infrastructures, operators can take advantage of a wideband communication platform able to support a variety of applications and application scenarios, e.g., journalism, humanitarian aid, civil protection, sanitary emergency, and military applications.

For what concerns the satellite services, several configurations are possible, among which we can mention:

SCPC (Single Channel per Carrier): The signal, transmitted by the antenna system installed on a vehicle, is received by a satellite antenna installed at the premises of the final user. This connection mode does not need to make use of control hub and the user can choose, from time to time, the desired satellite and operator, taking advantage of the many "occasional use" offers on the market.

Star Mesh: The signal, transmitted by the antenna system installed on a vehicle, is received by a satellite antenna installed at the premises of the final user. This connection mode needs a control hub and the band assignment is committed to the hub station manager that ensures the service releasing the user from all the technical/administrative problems toward satellite operators (foreign language, time zone, and line up).

Smart Connect: The signal, transmitted by the antenna system installed on a vehicle, is received by an antenna installed at a satellite hub that arranges for its forwarding to the user of the service by means of a wideband terrestrial link. This connection mode needs to make use of a control hub and the band assignment is committed to the hub station manager that ensures the service releasing the user from all the technical/administrative problems toward satellite operators (foreign language, time zone, and line up). Moreover, this mode does not need the installation of a satellite antenna at the premises of the user because the hub antenna is used, making the satellite link more reliable.

Lambda group, through the new joint venture company Antech Lambda, is heading for an expansion of its product portfolio for satellite communication by creating an in house state of the art manufacturing at the time of slow down and will certainly bring relief to broadcast industry.