Post by Madhav Ganesh on Dec 12, 2006 18:39:42 GMT 5
Telecommunications
INSAT system continues to support various communication services in the country. A total of 548 telecommunication terminals of various sizes and capabilities are now operating in the INSAT telecommunications network, providing 5,100 two-way speech circuits or equivalent over 166 routes. These include 140 fixed and captive, 20 transportable, 30 other government users and 358 Multi-Channels Per Carrier Very Small Aperture Terminals (MCPC-VSATs) and 23 Private VSAT hubs. Another 400 earth stations are in various stages of implementation in the DOT network. In the National Informatics Centre Network (NICNET) over 800 microterminals are operating. Twelve closed user group 64 kbps data networks are operating through INSAT extended C-band transponders.
About 259 VSATs are operating under the Remote Area Business Management Network.
Under Remote and Rural Area Communications using MCPC-VSATs, 245 VSATs are operating in the DOT network and another 102 are being added. High speed VSAT Network (HVNET) terminals are being offered on lease for data-only terminal and for data and voice services. Seventeen long distance subscriber telephone terminals are operational and 20 more are under consideration. The Bangalore-Delhi digital network with two 34 Mbps streams has been commissioned. Augmentation of existing eight Mbps connectivities amongst four metropolitan cities is planned by using digital channel multiplexing equipment.
Captive satellite-based networks for National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL), Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC), Indian Telephone Industries (ITI), Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC), National Fertilisers Limited (NFL) and Coal India Limited (CIL) are operational. A CIL earth station at Poonch has been commissioned. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) VSAT network in extended C-band is operational. A number of captive government networks are also working with INSAT. More organisations are in the process of implementing their own captive networks using INSAT capacity. DOT has licensed a few private operators to provide value-added services to the public using the extended C-band.
Mobile Satellite Services
With the launch of INSAT-2C in December 1995, an S-band Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) was added to the INSAT system on an experimental basis. The following two classes of services were identified for MSS:
• INSAT Mobile Telephony, which consists of low bit rate encoded voice, data and fax services using demand assigned SCPC channels, with mobile and portable (suit-case size) terminals. Five terminals have been installed as pre-operational service. The INSAT-MSS is targeted at land mobile and maritime users. The hub for INSAT-MSS services is located at Bangalore.
• INSAT Reporting System, which consists of low bit rate one-way reporting service using shared channels with portable and hand-held terminals. This one-way messaging from a remote location to user-headquarters operates with the Delhi Earth Station (DES) of DOS as the Hub. Short messages from user terminals are relayed through the satellite to the Hub and are automatically forwarded to the respective user headquarters via Fax or data links. This reporting service is provided using small hand-held terminals. The network manager at the Hub keeps track of the destination addresses for the mobile user messages and forwards it through fax or data interfaces. There is a provision to attach a GPS receiver to the reporting terminal for position information.
Television
INSAT has been a major catalyst for the rapid expansion of television coverage in India. At present, 33 TV channels are operating through the C-band transponders of INSAT system as follows:
• National networking service (DD-1), Metro service (DD-2) and Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) service.
• Regional services in Kerala, Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Maharashtra, Punjab, North-Eastern States, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
At present, 1,199 transmitters are working in the INSAT system out of which 1,104 transmitters (92 HPTs, 711 LPTs and 280 VLPTs) and 21 transposers are working in the DD-1 network and 90 TV Transmitters (39 HPTs, 45 LPTs and 6 VLPTs) are working in the DD-2 network. Three HPTs and two LPTs are used for other services.
Educational TV
An exclusive 24 hours Educational TV (Gyandarshan) is being operated by Doordarshan. Curriculum-based programmes are produced with active involvement of State educational administrators and teachers and programmes for school children are produced by the State Institutes of Educational Technology (SIET) — Marathi at Pune, Gujarati at Ahmedabad, Oriya at Bhubaneshwar and Telugu at Hyderabad — which are relayed by all transmitters in the concerned States. Hindi programmes are produced at State Institutes of Educational Technology at Delhi, Lucknow and Patna.
Programmes for university students are produced by Education Media Research Centres and Audio Visual Research Centres at different places. These programmes provide quality education within the reach of students in small towns and villages. Syllabus-based programmes for students enrolled in Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) are also relayed on this channel.
Satellite News Gathering and Dissemination
Satellite News Gathering using INSAT system enables real-time news coverages. Prasar Bharati is procuring Outdoor-Broadcast (OB) SNG terminals to cover important events in different locations for transmission via satellite to a central station at Delhi for rebroadcast over Doordarshan channels.
Press Trust of India (PTI) is implementing a system to provide its news and information services at higher speed and increased volume and variety directly to a wider range of media and other users by utilising the broadcast facilities of INSAT. The project utilises a Radio Networking (RN) type of channel on one of the broadcast (CxS) transponders of the satellite. The PTI satellite news and facsimile dissemination project is working with 15 terminals (14 from PTI and one shared with AIR).
INSAT system continues to support various communication services in the country. A total of 548 telecommunication terminals of various sizes and capabilities are now operating in the INSAT telecommunications network, providing 5,100 two-way speech circuits or equivalent over 166 routes. These include 140 fixed and captive, 20 transportable, 30 other government users and 358 Multi-Channels Per Carrier Very Small Aperture Terminals (MCPC-VSATs) and 23 Private VSAT hubs. Another 400 earth stations are in various stages of implementation in the DOT network. In the National Informatics Centre Network (NICNET) over 800 microterminals are operating. Twelve closed user group 64 kbps data networks are operating through INSAT extended C-band transponders.
About 259 VSATs are operating under the Remote Area Business Management Network.
Under Remote and Rural Area Communications using MCPC-VSATs, 245 VSATs are operating in the DOT network and another 102 are being added. High speed VSAT Network (HVNET) terminals are being offered on lease for data-only terminal and for data and voice services. Seventeen long distance subscriber telephone terminals are operational and 20 more are under consideration. The Bangalore-Delhi digital network with two 34 Mbps streams has been commissioned. Augmentation of existing eight Mbps connectivities amongst four metropolitan cities is planned by using digital channel multiplexing equipment.
Captive satellite-based networks for National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL), Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC), Indian Telephone Industries (ITI), Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC), National Fertilisers Limited (NFL) and Coal India Limited (CIL) are operational. A CIL earth station at Poonch has been commissioned. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) VSAT network in extended C-band is operational. A number of captive government networks are also working with INSAT. More organisations are in the process of implementing their own captive networks using INSAT capacity. DOT has licensed a few private operators to provide value-added services to the public using the extended C-band.
Mobile Satellite Services
With the launch of INSAT-2C in December 1995, an S-band Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) was added to the INSAT system on an experimental basis. The following two classes of services were identified for MSS:
• INSAT Mobile Telephony, which consists of low bit rate encoded voice, data and fax services using demand assigned SCPC channels, with mobile and portable (suit-case size) terminals. Five terminals have been installed as pre-operational service. The INSAT-MSS is targeted at land mobile and maritime users. The hub for INSAT-MSS services is located at Bangalore.
• INSAT Reporting System, which consists of low bit rate one-way reporting service using shared channels with portable and hand-held terminals. This one-way messaging from a remote location to user-headquarters operates with the Delhi Earth Station (DES) of DOS as the Hub. Short messages from user terminals are relayed through the satellite to the Hub and are automatically forwarded to the respective user headquarters via Fax or data links. This reporting service is provided using small hand-held terminals. The network manager at the Hub keeps track of the destination addresses for the mobile user messages and forwards it through fax or data interfaces. There is a provision to attach a GPS receiver to the reporting terminal for position information.
Television
INSAT has been a major catalyst for the rapid expansion of television coverage in India. At present, 33 TV channels are operating through the C-band transponders of INSAT system as follows:
• National networking service (DD-1), Metro service (DD-2) and Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) service.
• Regional services in Kerala, Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Maharashtra, Punjab, North-Eastern States, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
At present, 1,199 transmitters are working in the INSAT system out of which 1,104 transmitters (92 HPTs, 711 LPTs and 280 VLPTs) and 21 transposers are working in the DD-1 network and 90 TV Transmitters (39 HPTs, 45 LPTs and 6 VLPTs) are working in the DD-2 network. Three HPTs and two LPTs are used for other services.
Educational TV
An exclusive 24 hours Educational TV (Gyandarshan) is being operated by Doordarshan. Curriculum-based programmes are produced with active involvement of State educational administrators and teachers and programmes for school children are produced by the State Institutes of Educational Technology (SIET) — Marathi at Pune, Gujarati at Ahmedabad, Oriya at Bhubaneshwar and Telugu at Hyderabad — which are relayed by all transmitters in the concerned States. Hindi programmes are produced at State Institutes of Educational Technology at Delhi, Lucknow and Patna.
Programmes for university students are produced by Education Media Research Centres and Audio Visual Research Centres at different places. These programmes provide quality education within the reach of students in small towns and villages. Syllabus-based programmes for students enrolled in Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) are also relayed on this channel.
Satellite News Gathering and Dissemination
Satellite News Gathering using INSAT system enables real-time news coverages. Prasar Bharati is procuring Outdoor-Broadcast (OB) SNG terminals to cover important events in different locations for transmission via satellite to a central station at Delhi for rebroadcast over Doordarshan channels.
Press Trust of India (PTI) is implementing a system to provide its news and information services at higher speed and increased volume and variety directly to a wider range of media and other users by utilising the broadcast facilities of INSAT. The project utilises a Radio Networking (RN) type of channel on one of the broadcast (CxS) transponders of the satellite. The PTI satellite news and facsimile dissemination project is working with 15 terminals (14 from PTI and one shared with AIR).