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Tag: ASC Enterprises Limited

  • Punit Goenka is business head of Zee Sports

    Punit Goenka is business head of Zee Sports

    MUMBAI: Legal roadblocks notwithstanding, Zee Group CMD Subhash Chandra’s network is moving inexorably forward with its sports broadcast plans.

    Zee Telefilms today announced the appointment of Chandra’s son Punit Goenka as the business head of the group’s soon to be launched sports channel, Zee Sports.

    Zee Sports is scheduled to formally launch on 2 October, the Zee Network’s 12th anniversary.

    Goenka is also the CEO and full time president of ASC Enterprises Limited. ASC Enterprises is the promoter of Dish TV, India’s first direct-to-home service provider.

    Goenka, who is Chandra’s eldest son, was recently appointed as the director for the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, which also advises on the International Emmy Awards.

    Goenka began his career in 1995 with the Essel Group and was initially involved with the launch of Zee Music, where he held the position of executive director. He has held positions at several Essel Group projects at the corporate decision making level.

  • Agrani satellite transponders to be used for DTH platform

    Agrani satellite transponders to be used for DTH platform

    After Star, it is the turn of the Subhash Chandra-controlled Essel Group promoted ASC Enterprises Limited (ASCEL) to apply for a DTH license.

    Agrani Satellite Services Limited (an ASC Enterprise) has signed a turnkey satellite contract for India’s first private sector satellite initiative, thus agreeing to procure a geostationary, C & Ku band satellite from Alcatel Space Industries of France. The deal involves ‘in-orbit delivery’ of the satellite and a ground control station by Alcatel and Arianespace will provide the Launch Services. The project is estimated to cost Rs11 billion.

    According to the information available, seven to 10 transponders on the satellite will be used for the DTH platform, while the remaining will be used for telecom purposes. There is no clear word though when the company proposes to launch the DTH platform. This will depend in large measure.

    The high power KU band spot beam of the proposed Agrani satellite is ideally suited for Direct to Home signals, as well as to provide domestic bandwidth to various Telecom and Internet Service Providers, analysts said. 

    The power of the Ku band transponder(s) on the proposed Agrani satellite is designed to take care of heavy rainfall in costal and hilly areas of the country.

    “The project will save foreign exchange out flow, enable TV channels to be up-linked from Indian soil using Indian Satellite system,” a senior executive of an Indian-controlled broadcasting company opined.

    ASSL is the first Indian private satellite system to be authorised by the Government of India under May 2000 SatCom policy framework. The Government has also approved the equity participation of Alcatel and Arianespace in ASSL.

    Government of India’s Satcom policy announced in May 2000 and operationalised in November 2000 allows private Indian companies to launch, own, operate and maintain private satellite systems as Indian registered satellite.

    The policy also allows preference treatment to the Indian registered satellite (including the INSAT Satellites which have also been allowed to be used by Private Indian Companies); if suitable capacity is available on INSAT or Private Indian Satellite Systems, the service provision of any kind on the Foreign Satellite will not be permitted. Currently India uses more than 80 transponders on different foreign satellites.

    Other than INSAT, ASSL will be the only satellite system to offer C-band capacity on an India-only coverage beam. Other Asian satellites have Asia-coverage beams that result in lower downlink power levels in India.

    ASSL’s Ku-band capacity offering features a high downlink power in India compared to the best available in the region, and a unique India-Europe connectivity that is suitable for Internet backbone access. ASSL also has the ability to offer turnkey bundled solutions and technical consulting services for India-specific requirements.

    The Agrani transponders will support a broad range of applications ranging from TV broadcasting and DTH to rural and remote area communications, providing telecom media diversity along critical long distance routes to improve resilience against natural or man made disasters, private and public VSAT networks, domestic and international Internet backbone bandwidth as well as direct access and international connectivity among others.