Satellite TV services are critical for news and entertainment for the Indian market, reflecting the country's potentially massive population. TV viewing in India would be very limited in choice, if it was to rely only on terrestrial television. Compared to Europe, the Middle East, and USA, India has relatively few terrestrial television services, so it is satellite that holds the key to deliver a wide choice of programs and channels to millions of viewers.

The most important advantage of satellite is that it can reach areas that do not have a good terrestrial TV service and it is the only route to provide the bandwidth needed to make the Internet services a reality. The cost arguments also point in favor of satellite, as where the population is widely spread, satellite services will always prove more cost-effective than fiber-optic networks, which are generally the best solution for larger cities and built-up areas.

New investments need to be made in earth stations, but there is a strong economic argument that indicates that this is perfectly feasible. India's viewing public is a valuable market, because although average incomes may seem relatively modest compared to other regions of the world, the sheer number of viewers is extremely large. Around 120 million viewing households are already satellite-capable out of a potential market of over 200 million. With a market of this size, individual monthly subscriptions need not be great to deliver a return on investment.

India has a vibrant media industry which is fully capable of producing programming and creates content for its large viewing population. With hundreds of TV channels, there is a sufficient wealth of content to make it worthwhile for many to provide their own transmissions. Many Indian channels operate exclusively as satellite services, providing multiplex and uplink themselves. Local channels can relatively easily join these services and share the use of the uplink.

What is still missing currently is the infrastructure in regions to make all this happen. There is no doubt that the number of earth stations has to grow. It would not be unrealistic to suggest that there should be another twenty or more new earth stations constructed annually. This is, therefore, an important and potentially very profitable market opportunity.

In future, we expect to see each city having perhaps two or three of its own earth stations or teleports, which will beam TV and Internet services to the rural villages by satellite. The technology exists but so far, it is not reaching the rural populations. We would expect new developments to be driven by the national owners of the satellite services and the established telecom carriers. No doubt this will come in time and it would be good to see more government support to bring about the necessary modernization.

The trend is for more higher frequency earth stations for Ku Band and Ka Band. Antenna sizes are becoming smaller and private broadcasters tend to import antennae from outside India.

Antennae may have single or multiple beams, in which case they may transmit and receive simultaneously, with the uplink and downlink operating at two separate frequencies with a waveguide filter.

There is an important trend toward remote management of the site, which means that the company chosen to supply the hardware, antennae, and installation services should also be able to deliver a first class software solution.

To construct and commission an earth station requires a complex mix of skills. The site survey, design of kit racks and layout of the receiver, antenna, transmitter and tracking devices, testing and commissioning and design of network interface require engineering skills. But it is not just a technical challenge. It is also a complex exercise in management and planning.

By a successful installation, we mean not only a finished site that contains a high quality technical solution but also one where the responsible contractors are able to cut through the potential obstacles and delays at the construction and commissioning stage, and deliver results on time - and most importantly of all - within the expected, allocated budget.

We would like to close by offering our thoughts on three factors that might set successful installations apart from the rest.

Firstly, a careful planning. Any potential problems and hazards that might derail the successful installation must be identified and countered at the design review stage. This amounts to establishing good relations with all parties beforehand, keeping the communication lines open to all parties involved, and ironing out any problems before they arise.

There will be many parties involved. The end user customer, which may be a telecom company or another site owner, will need to work with a number of sub-contractors with different skills and expertise to get the job done. It is a challenge to manage the logistics of teams of sub-contractors and suppliers, some of which may arrive from overseas, also to ensure that all equipment and services are delivered in the right order, and at the right time.

The final thought we would suggest is this - Consider the level of confidence you have in the design for the facility. We cannot stress enough the importance of expert project design, which, if it is executed well, will guarantee that when the construction is complete, the site will work as it was intended to.