Zee books four transponders on INSAT-3A
Tuesday, 06 May 2003, 19:30 IST
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BANGALORE: Leading private broadcaster Zee Telefilms has booked four transponders on India's latest satellite INSAT-3A for its direct-to-home television service. The multipurpose INSAT-3A, launched on April 10 from Kourou in French Guiana, will become operational this month. It is the 13th satellite in India's INSAT series that is used for telecommunication and meteorological purposes. "The user community will be able to start using it once we declare it operational by the end of this month," K. Kasturirangan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), told a news conference here Monday. Apart from Zee Telefilms, private and state-owned players have booked transponders on INSAT-3A. The addition of 24 transponders from INSAT-3A would take the total number of transponders available through the INSAT series to 120. But outside the INSAT series, there are still 70 transponders used in the country. "We will be able to close the gap once we launch the next INSAT satellite," Kasturirangan said. To meet the needs for controlling the growing number of satellites, ISRO is setting up its second master control facility at Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, 1,100 km from the first one at Hassan in Karnataka. "This will be ready in 15 months," an official said.
Source: IANS
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