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India : BSNL urges Government permission to purchase foreign satellite bandwidth [TendersInfo (India)](TendersInfo (India) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Indian state-owned telecommunications carrier, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd announced that it is seeking Government permission to purchase satellite bandwidth directly from foreign operators. According to BSNL, the Indian Space Research Organisation was unable to give additional capacity on transponders of its choice. The company stated that any delay from Department of Telecom (DoT) in giving satellite services could endanger communication links in far flung areas, especially Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The company commented that previously, BSNL was performing on INSAT-3E satellite but this satellite was deactivating on April 3. BSNL had 322 MHz capacity on this satellite but ISRO has allocated only 201 MHz. BSNL stated, We have requested ISRO to allow three C-band transponders. Antrix Corporation has informed that C-band capacity is available for use in some of the foreign satellites, but the price range indicated is 5 times that of INSAT. BSNL commented that it desired to appoint capacity from MESAT or Thaicom as they were keen to negotiate at $1.15 million per transponder per annum, which was only marginally higher than what BSNL was paying earlier ( at $1 million). However, these two satellite companies do not figure in the proposal offered by Antrix. The case may be taken up with ISRO to allot three additional transponders in C-band immediately either on INSAT or on foreign satellite having comparable price range. Alternatively, BSNL may be permitted to hire transponder directly from foreign satellite operators, the company mentioned. (c) 2014 Euclid Infotech Pvt. Ltd. Provided by Syndigate.info, an Albawaba.com company |