Private firms might get to buy or lease foreign satellites

Isro begins drafting an open sky policy to meet growing demand for DTH transponders

Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has begun discussions to draft an ‘Open Sky Policy’ that would allow private companies to buy or lease foreign communication satellites and operate over Indian skies and the South Asian region.  

The move could help Indian users such as direct to home satellite broadcasters and VSAT operators, who provide connectivity for banks and ATMs, take quicker decisions to scale and reduce cost of transactions.  

“We are coming up with approaches and encouraging the private operators to acquire (satellites and transponders) and then make that acquisition available under the Indian government administration,” A S Kiran Kumar, chairman of Isro said in an interview with Business Standard.

He did not set a timeline for the policy change which needs Union Cabinet approval.

Currently, any connectivity requirement through satellites sought by users in India, either Indian or foreign, is managed by Antrix Corporation, the commercial arm of Isro. Antrix signs deals with foreign satellite operators on behalf of users, only after exhausting the local satellite capacity. This, Isro admits is restricting.

India already allows private players to make satellites in the country.

Globally, most nations, including China and India have adopted a “closed sky policy,” to restrict foreign satellite operators to directly deal with end consumers to protect its “orbit spectrum” — the slot in the geostationary orbit for communication satellites allocated to individual countries and the spectrum it beams.  

Security is also a concern for this restriction. In addition, the Indian space agency wanted to protect its nascent space and satellite industry.

In 2012, the Satellite Industry Association, a US lobby group of satellite makers had represented to the US government to intervene for an open sky policy in India and China. China does not allow private interests in its satellite industry.

In India, the growth in the  direct-to-home (DTH) operators has put pressure on Isro. The space agency has limited capabilities of rockets that can launch satellites to the orbit where communication satellites are placed. So, it hasn’t got enough of its own satellites in orbit with Ku band transponders, with capability for DTH transmission. Instead it is leasing the transponders from foreign satellites.

As on July 13, of the total 76 transponders used by Indian DTH operators, 57 or three-fourths were leased from foreign satellites, according to report by the Comptroller and Auditor General submitted in the parliament in November 2014. It also said the increase could be as high as 90 percent after Tata Sky shifted to foreign satellites. The total requirement is around 200 transponders.

“We have surplus (capacity of transponders), except in DTH. We should be looking at how same channels are using multiple transponders. If the resource usage is effectively managed, you will see there is under utilisation of the capacity,” said Kumar. “We make efforts to provide the required capacity and meet the demand. If we are not able to meet the demand, then it is best to allow the industry itself to start building capacity”.

The slow progress in launching India’s own DTH satellites has meant that at least five orbital slots for the country has been occupied by foreign satellites, the CAG report said.

 The open sky policy is also aimed at reversing this trend. An Indian company that owns or leases satellite will work under the administrative control of the government, complying with local rules that mandate the orbital slots remain with India. The necessary agreements to retain the slots in Indian control will be routed through the International Telecommunications Union, the global body to discuss such issues.

“There are implementation related norms. We are going through the process of change. That has been initiated, it will be crystallised,” said Kumar.  “Indian operator and company can go through the process and acquire. And, when they acquire, they bring it to the Indian administration”.