(1 July 2008 6:30 pm)

MUMBAI: Zee Group's Wire & Wireless India Ltd (WWIL) will use two satellites for its ambitious Headend-In-The-Sky (HITS) project.

The multi-system operator (MSO) will utilise multiple C-band transponders from SES New Skies and Asiasat 4 which will enable it to distribute pay-TV signals to cable headends across the country.

WWIL intends to use six C-band transponders from SES New Skies over five years. The agreement initially covers capacity on NSS-703 at 57° East, transitioning to NSS-12 in 2009.

"We will be using C-band transponders from Asiasat 4 and SES New Skies for the HITS project. We plan to offer 180 channels on the platform," says WWIL CEO Deepak Chandnani.

Essel Group and Netherland-based satellite communication services provider SES New Skies have announced the signing of a five-year, multi-transponder agreement for the provision of C-band satellite capacity to support a new digital HITS platform.

The agreement with AsiaSat was announced on 21 June. WWIL plans to convert its existing analogue cable service to HITS.

Zee Group is already using SES New Skies' Ku-band transponders for its direct-to-home (DTH) service under sister company Dish TV.

Says SES New Skies VP sales (South Asia) Deepak Mathur, “We already provide Ku-band capacity for Dish TV on NSS-6, VSAT capacity on NSS-11 in cooperation with Antrix Corporation (the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation), and now C-band capacity for this key digitalisation initiative of Essel’s cable infrastructure. The Essel Group is one of our most valued customers globally and we are selected to support the nationwide roll-out of HITS, which is set to provide more digital television choice to millions of Indian cable homes."