BOMBAY: A major satellite project estimated to cost Rs.12 crores has been undertaken by the central government to prevent the infiltration of signals relayed by foreign satellites.
The project involves the construction of a high-power receiving station in Jatna in Maharashtra which can record and measure the signal strength of all the satellites over India. The Maharashtra district has been chosen as it is free of electric-magnetic interference according to sources here.
The 90-tonne antenna for the receiving station is being fabricated by a Madras-based firm with the technical co-operation of Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) The project is scheduled to start functioning by the end of the.
Sources claimed that till now the government of India did not have the technical know-how and equipment to prevent infiltration by satellite signal. The government had been planning to initiate the project for the last three years but had swung into action only recently because of the sudden spread of dish-antenna beaming foreign programs in the major cities. Bombay alone is believed to have over 100 dish antenna many of them installed on the terraces of housing societies. An apartment block which already has a cable network is expected to pay next to nothing for the additional facility of receiving CNN and other foreign fare like the Hong Kong based Star TV beaming sports and entertainment shows on its television sets. The rate for the extra dish antenna service in each home currently ranges from Rs 50 to Rs 100 a month
Jama would have a 55 feet (in diameter) earth station sources added. An undesirable signal being thrown by a foreign satellite could therefore be checked.
REPORT SUBMITTED:A comprehensive report on Cable television network and dish antenna systems was submitted recently by an inter department committee set up by the Information and Broadcasting ministry. According to the report events in Europe have demonstrated that TV signals have broken through national frontiers. The size of the dish antenna to receive TV programs from other countries directly from satellites is progressively decreasing. (The day) may not be far off when an individual viewer even in India is able to tune his TV set to any of the numerous foreign TV channels by installing a small inexpensive antenna the committee has stated.
Chaired by Mr M. Damodaran joint secretary in the and B ministry the 13-member committee comprised Mr S. Ravi joint secretary department of electronics Mr K.Narayanan director department of space Dr M.K. Rao wireless adviser.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 14, 1991
