(19 March 2010 10:30 pm)

NEW DELHI: The big-picture issues facing the satellite sector in India in 2010 and beyond will be the key focus at the annual India Satellite Industry Forum on “India on the Digital Edge - where Broadband HITS the Streets”.

The meet taking place here on 22 March will take up issues like the key trends most likely to sustain businesses in tough times and untapped opportunities in the future.

Organised by the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa), this year’s Forum will share market insights on items such as HITS — Head-end In The Sky — broadband deployments and the expansion of digital TV offerings from the leadership of the global satellite industry, channel heads, pay-TV operators and technology providers.

The sessions in the single-day meet will have a keynote address by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Chairperson JS Sharma and Information and Broadcasting Ministry Special Secretary Uday Varma is also expected the address the closing session. There will be sessions on ‘Uniquely India: News Directions and Dangers for Satcoms’, India as an international leader, the DTH Growth Curve, Content Creation in the times of regulatory frameworks, new technologies, and HDTV.

The speakers also include Andrea Appella who is Director of Legal, Competition and Regulatory Affairs in News Corp (Europe & Asia); Greg Moyer, President of Scripps Networks International; Doordarshan Engineer-in-Chief RR Prasad; Deepak Mathur, VP - Sales (South Asia and the Middle East ) in SES WORLD SKIES; Rahul Johri, SVP & GM, India for Discovery Networks Asia Pacific; Deepak Jacob, SVP, Legal & Regulatory for Star India, Zee Turner CEO Dinesh Jain; Reliance Big TV President Sanjay Behl;, Hughes Network Systems India President Pranav Roach; Eutelsat Regional Director for UK and South Asia Nicholas Daly; AsiaSat General Manager (Marketing) Sabrina Cubbon, and MEASAT Vice President (Commercial Operations) Terry Bleakley.