According to the plan, VSNL is setting up earth stations at Korattur, near Chennai, Dehradun, Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad. Of these, the Korattur earth station is already operational and can provide uplinking as soon as broadcasters get clearances from government agencies such as the wireless planning commission.

The Delhi and Mumbai earth stations, which are being converted for broadcast uplinking, are expected to be operational by the end of the year. These stations were till now being used for VSNL's other services such as the international voice telephony. The other two earth stations in Hyderabad and Dehradun are expected to be commissioned by March nextyear.

Besides setting up the five earth stations, VSNL has also procured five very small apperture terminals (V-sats) that can be used for uplinking from remote areas. If a broadcaster is not located close to any of these earth stations, a V-sat can be installed at the broadcaster's premises for getting connected to one of the earth stations. For uplinking, VSNL will charge a fee of Rs 6 lakh per month.

Acting CMD Amitabh Kumar said the company has identified uplinking as one of its key focus areas. "We are entering the area as there are more than a dozen domestic broadcasters who want uplinking from the country. Besides, when foreign broadcasters are allowed to uplink from the country, the demand will increase," he said.

The broadcast bill, which is expected to be passed during the winter session of the Parliament, aims to make it mandatory for all broadcasters beaming programmes into the country to uplink from the country. It is understood that about eight local broadcasters have already been givenpermission to uplink and are expected to start doing so soon.

It is understood that even foreign broadcasters will be allowed to set up uplinking bases in the country before the broadcast bill is enacted into a law.

Insight

A win-win situation

At present, domestic satellite broadcasters are bearing a dual burden pertaining to payment for uplinking. For instance, private broadcasters have to pay VSNL first for providing connectivity between their premises and the international uplinking station. Thereafter, they have to shell out a huge fee to the international operator to uplink for broadcasting purposes. But it has to be noted that, initially, VSNL will be providing uplinking only from Chennai. This means that broadcasters only around Chennai could avail of the low uplinking fee of Rs 6 lakh which seems to be competitive compared to the rates offered by uplinking centres in Singapore, Bangkok and Hongkong. Others will have to incur incidental expenses to connect to the earthstation.

All this means that a broadcaster operating away from the above mentioned earth stations could be shelling out a higher fee than his present tariffs. But, it has to be understood that valuable foreign exchange will be saved on account of this decision. Moreover, with depreciation of the rupee, the broadcasters have had to, of late, shell out a higher fee. This definitely is a win-win situation for VSNL as it will register a substantial spurt in revenues from its broadcasting business.