‘Mobile-phone use on planes should come about in 2 years’

Intelsat, the world’s largest commercial satellite communications services provider, is investing in a second satellite in India. David Ball, its vice-president (Asia-Pacific), who was in India recently to attend the first meeting of the board of the council of governors of the cable and satellite broadcasters association of Asia (CASBAA), spoke to on industry-related issues in an exclusive chat. Excerpts:

What are Intelsat’s India plans?
We are going to continue to service this market, for instance, selling capacity primarily to the cable TV distribution market. We have Intelsat 10 in service now, it is very well taken up. We are replacing that satellite in 2012 for C-band distribution in the India market.

What’s the reason behind this replacement?
The satellites have a defined life — typically 15 years. We are approaching that time, but are replacing the satellite a little earlier, to ensure we are there on time. We also have a large customer — Multichoice in South Africa — for the direct-to-home (DTH) business. They are a large customer on Intelsat 10 as well as Intelsat 7, which is also approaching the end of its life. So, instead of replacing two satellites, we are building one large satellite. That satellite, Intelsat 20, will serve India for C band.

What does the India market look like?
India is one of the most robust television markets in Asia. Content creation here has increased significantly in the past few years. That’s why we are investing in a second satellite for India — Intelsat 17. We will do that in 2011, and it will be located very close to where the Intelsat 10 satellite is. We expect the growth of hi-definition television to continue in this region, and that’s the reason we are investing in a new satellite. In all, we are building 11 satellites right now.

How do you compare the Indian market with that of China and Hong Kong?
China and Hong Kong are very different markets. The Mainland is a very limited market for us. There are a lot of market access issues there. We, however, carry China Central Television (CCTV) and China Radio International. We also work with a lot of telecommunications companies to bring new services in and out of China.

In India, are you into telecom services?
We are not into telecom services as much as we would like to be. We provide a lot more video services. There are a lot of regulations one has to comply with. Isro is the domestic satellite organisation in India. But if you look at the Indian market, it can benefit from additional satellite resources. We have a great relationship with Isro — we are leasing capacity to their transponders.

Are there too many roadblocks in providing direct telecom services in India? What is the Indian regulator telling you on that?
For us, we must go through Isro to sell any capacity for domestic services. We have that relationship established and we will continue our dialogue.

Do you see the regulation being relaxed?
It’s hard to tell. I think Isro has a strong role to play. Its capability and capacity is tremendous.

What regulatory issues are you seeking resolution of in India?
Spectrum is a huge issue that needs to be talked about. In C Band, we have had spectrum for 40-plus years. Now, we fear interference between satellite and Wimax services in that band. We are going to reinforce our position there.

How is the competition in the satellite market?
It’s a very healthy competitive market. That’s mainly because of the critical satellite communication link that we provide the industry.

Has the industry been impacted by the global recession in any way?
Not much. As I mentioned, we provide a very critical communication link to customers. So services will continue. There has been some minor impact on future projects, but existing businesses have been growing.

Are you into any government services in India?
We are working with the National Informatics Centre. We are also working with Doordarshan.

Anything new that you are planning to do for the government?
I could not comment on that.

Is there anything new you are planning for the industry?
We will facilitate the growth of hi-definition TVs and the concept of virtual teleport. We are already offering virtual teleport service to broadcasters in some markets. On the telecom side, we are seeing a shift towards global mobility — in ships and aircraft, for example. Global roaming on aircraft is something that is expected to mature.

Are you doing anything that will make mobile communication available on planes?
Yes, we are working with a number of players on that. There was an initiative earlier on mobile connectivity on the flight, but because of terrorist activity and the sharp decline in the aviation industry, that product did not take off. The new technology is expected to come about in the next two to three years. There have been trials already for say, Blackberry access on planes. And you will see more and more of that.

Are you in talks with any Indian airline for mobile communication technology?
Not presently.

And internationally?
Yes, we are in talks with some of the major international airline companies. But I can’t name them.

What is the difference between the technology available now and the one you would offer for mobile connectivity while flying?
The current technology is on a narrow band. We are dealing with a more wideband service to provide far more capable, richer and swifter service.

What will be the cost of the mobile connectivity service on plane?
We have not determined that yet. Our service will cost less than the existing narrowband service, and will offer high capability.