"The delivery and response time taken is too much. Foreign players don't have local workshops consequently maintenance costs are high as the product is not indigenous, says YP Singh, Senior Vice President (Technical), Zee News Limited

Your view on the VSAT market in India

The Indian VSAT market is growing rapidly because of rising demand of internet in rural areas and educational institutes. Now, Indian companies seeking to expand their scale of operation are keenly interested in VSAT to minimize their communication costs. Globalization of the economy is a key growth driver for VSAT.

On major demand drivers

The need to reach out to rural areas; need to spread education to far-flung areas; and growth in electronic media are some of the important factors that are driving growth. Moreover, connectivity to remote areas is not possible with optical fiber cable.

Who are the major solution vendors you are aligned with? What are your expectations from them?

We are aligned with Essel Shyam Communications, VTI, and Digital Broadcast‚ India and our overall experience with them has been quite good. We expect cost-effective solutions and good after-sales support from them.

On key considerations while choosing VSAT solutions

One looks for cost-effective solutions in terms of CAPEX and OPEX for integration, operation, and maintenance etc., which are delivered within required timelines.

What are your expectations from VSAT equipment and services vendors?

We expect compatibility with the rest of our broadcast equipment, easy to operate equipment, and equipment capability in giving optimum performance even in the extreme conditions (at times news gathering takes place in adverse conditions).

On the challenges faced

The high cost of satellite air-time implies high bandwidth charges and higher start up cost for VSAT networks, and represents an overall major challenge. The delay in delivery of VSAT equipment because of import procedures is another stumbling block. Also, in India bandwidth is in the hands of the government. Moreover, all our satellites do not have VSAT transponders. The number of news channels has increased over the years and so has the demand for bandwidth and therefore, the cost is very high. That is why a few years from now people might start using OFC or use foreign satellites.

Since, maximum spare parts come from outside India, maintenance is a another major problem. The delivery and response time taken is too high. Foreign players don't have local workshops and consequently maintenance costs are high.

What would be your suggestion to a buyer of VSAT?

They should procure that equipment thatis cost-effective and repairable by local engineers. They can also consider high-frequency solutions like KU band or free band to reduce OPEX.

How far has the current slow-down affected your procurement plans?

Naturally economic slowdown affects all business plans but we are more focused on our network expansion because of the stiff competition in media. We have successfully completed many of our projects. Availability of good projects at hand has ensured that procurement plans are largely unaffected.