New Delhi – The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) India Satellite Forum 2009 attracted more than 150 officials, satellite services operators, pay-TV platform operators, content providers and telecom carriers to share insights on the growth prospects of India’s satellite services market. The annual Forum was organized in association with the Convergence India trade show and sponsored by Asia Broadcast Satellite, AsiaSat, Eutelsat, Intelsat, MEASAT, SES New Skies and broadcaster NDTV. Among participating government officials were A Bhaskaranarayana, Scientific Secretary, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Uday K. Varma, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, India (MIB) and N Parameswaran, Principal Advisor, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Representatives of India’s DTH, digital cable, IPTV, mobile TV and media and telecoms financing sectors also participated. Bhaskaranarayana of ISRO showcased the Indian satellite sector, which now boasts some 211 satellite transponders on 11 domestic satellites and was recently boosted by the successful launch of the Chandrayan-1 satellite into lunar orbit. Bhaskaranarayana promised further “high-speed internet access and multi-media via satellite and IP-based services.” Other on-going ISRO initiatives include the enhancement of India’s satellite launch programme for commercial satellites and a domestically developed global positioning satellite navigation system. Follow-up panel discussions participants called for the deployment of yet more satellite capacity over India in order to satisfy still pent-up market demand. Other speakers examined the commercial dynamics for DTH television development and the ‘win-win synergies’ between the digital cable, broadband, IPTV and mobile TV sectors. Meanwhile, a conference segment dedicated to industry regulation noted that powerful interference by uncontrolled deployments of Broadband Wireless Access systems could put dozens of Indian pay-TV channels off the air. Meanwhile, CASBAA highlighted the ‘still astonishing potential upside provided by satellites for India’s communications needs’. According to CASBAA, India remains a highly competitive market for broadcast services with more than 240 licensed TV channels, some 10 million DTH connections and 4 million digital set-top boxes. Despite the recent economic down-turn, the industry is forecast to enjoy 4-6 percent growth this year, said CASBAA.