Broadbandindia Magazine

ProtoStar Ltd is a private company incorporated in Bermuda, with U.S. operations based in San Francisco, California and Asian operations based in Singapore. ProtoStar intends to operate an initial fleet of three geostationary satellites. Two satellites have been acquired, one of which has been launched. ProtoStar’s anchor customer, Dish TV India Limited, is the largest direct-to-home television operator in India.

ProtoStar satellite within all regulatory guidelines

ProtoStar I is operating fully within applicable ITU rules and regulations since its successful launch on 7 July 2008.In its Circular Telegram, the ITU acknowledged that the Administration of Belarus, the notifying Administration for Intersputnik, has followed the regulations to properly bring frequencies into use on the operationally-healthy ProtoStar I satellite at 98.5 degrees east under the Intersputnik- 98.5ECK satellite network. The ITU also confirmed that ProtoStar has met all due diligence requirements of ITU Resolution 49. “This international circular from the Radio communication Bureau underscores what we’ve been saying all along: that ProtoStar is a solid ‘ITU citizen’,” said Philip Father, ProtoStar’s President and CEO. “We have operated, and will continue to operate, our satellites in full compliance with the ITU requirements. We continue to work with our orbital neighbors to fully and fairly coordinate all frequencies to maintain the integrity of their services as well as our own.” Stefan Kollar, Intersputnik’s Deputy Director General, added that “being an intergovernmental organization that files and internationally legally protects its satellite networks through the notifying administration of Belarus, Intersputnik guarantees that all applicable provisions of the ITU Radio Regulations including those related to avoidance of harmful interference to satellite networks having ITU date priority are strictly observed whenever any projects are implemented in cooperation with ProtoStar or other satellite operators.” ProtoStar announced a cooperation agreement with Intersputnik to provide direct-to-home (DTH) television and broadband Internet services to DTH operators throughout South and Southeast Asia using ProtoStar I’s powerful Ku- band and C-band transponders, enabling small dish television . ProtoStar’s customers already include a premier line up of established Asian and Indian operators including Agrani Satellite Services Limited, a division of DishTV India Ltd.; PlanetSky Ltd. of Limassol, Cyprus; Singapore  Telecommunications Ltd. (SingTel); and most recently a collaboration with PLDT/Mabuhay Satellite Corporation.

ProtoStar 1

Launched in July 2008, ProtoStar I is designed to meet the needs of both emerging and existing Direct-To-Home (DTH) operators in Asia and to provide broadband communications in the region. Space Systems/Loral was able to deliver the satellite to launch in 17 months by quickly tailoring an existing satellite to meet coverage requirements of ProtoStar’s customers. The existing Ku- and C-band satellite, Chinasat 8, was purchased by ProtoStar at the end of 2006. It is the first in a fleet of multiple satellites ProtoStar plans to launch that will enable its in-country partners to offer advanced satellite television services and powerful two-way broadband Internet access.

ProtoStar II

Together with The Department of Communication and Informatika of the Republic Indonesia (Depkominfo), Media Citra Indostar (MCI) will launch the ProtoStar II Satellite in March 2009. On 2008-01-14 Boeing announced that the Boeing Satellite Development Center in El Segundo, California would provide a spacecraft based on the Boeing 601HP spacecraft design for use as ProtoStar II. The spacecraft was originally built for PanAmSat (now Intelsat).

ProtoStar II will be launched by International Launch Services on a Proton rocket The ProtoStar II Satellite is the new generation of Indostar I/Cakrawarta I, which has served Indonesia since the launching on 1997 and the operation period, will be ended soon. The capacity of this satellite is doubled compare to the previous one before, and will serves about 120 channels with MPEG-2 technology and 140 channels with MPEG-2 and MPEG-4, and also will serve 2(two) pay TV, local television and radio link. Same as the Indostar I satellite, the ProtoStar II satellite is the only satellite that broadcasts in Indonesia which taking place at the orbital Sband that endurance to climate change and 2.5GHz for its frequency. The purpose of this launching of the ProtoStar II  Satellite will improve the service in the broadcasting industry in Indonesia as well as to give a bigger chance for the content business. “At least for Depkominfo this will force and as well as facilitate the broadcasting industry for better growing”, said Communication and Informatica Ministry (Menkominfo), M.Nuh to the journalist.

Couple times ago Menkominfo and SKDI Depkominfo, Freddy Tulung saw the making of satellite at Boeing in Los Angeles, USA. It will take time about 20 months, on the other hand the launching it self will be done in Kazakhstan, exactly in Baikonour City. “The footprint” of the satellite will not only in Indonesia but more over to the countries around Asia such as Philippine, India, China and more.The value of satellite has accomplished it, is about US$300 million, it said by the Director of the PT. MNC SkyVision, Rudi Tanoesoedibjo in press conference at the Depkominfo Building, Jakarta. The transponder capacity of Ku-band is 10 pieces, which are, double from the Indostar I satellite capacity with a better signal. And also provides 12 pieces of Ku-band will direct to India and 10 pieces will direct to Indonesia and Taiwan.

Why ProtoStar ?

ProtoStar offers a highly customer-focused, customized approach that enables our in-region partners to focus on what they do best – deliver reliable, cost-effective, small dish television services to the consumer. Operational efficiency is crucial to maintaining business viability which is why service providers are relying increasingly on scaleable resources to manage the demands of their space-based operations. Whether a new or existing DTH operator, ProtoStar is uniquely positioned to meet customers’ current power/footprint requirements and future growth projections with customized transponder configurations that deliver fully optimized, high-power FSS and BSS Ku band capacity blocks. Importantly, ProtoStar can offer its in-region partners customized financing arrangements to cover comprehensive packaged satellite services and large blocks of transponders.

ProtoStar Advantages

.  Smaller Dishes

In the DTH business there is a direct correlation between a satellite’s power and the size of the required receiving dish – the higher the power, the smaller the dish. ProtoStar’s contoured footprints are tailored to bring designated power levels to specific regions in Asia. This enables the use of small 50cm. dishes that are easy to install and configure, in addition to being significantly more stable.

.  Breadth of Choice

The next generation of DTH services will require the delivery of 150 to 250 channels of entertainment, educational, news and sports programming. Additionally, pay-per-view and audio channels will provide even more compelling choices. This diversity and quantity of content options will differentiate the DTH competition

and require the large blocks of bulk capacity that ProtoStar will deliver.

.  Overcoming Rain Interference

In Asia, rain attenuation can severely impact the signal quality and is a major concern for satellitebased DTH operators and their subscribers. As a result, the power of ProtoStar’s satellite signal to provide clarity over a wide footprint will now deliver the quality of service demanded during the region’s frequent turbulent weather conditions.

.  Delivery of Next Generation Services

As subscribers become more sophisticated and demanding, DTH operators will need to deliver programming that is translated and dubbed with various audio tracks tailored to local languages and dialects over multiple channels. Advances in set-top-box and elliptical dish technology will provide the new compelling features that will differentiate DTH services and operators. ProtoStar has the power, capacity and experience to deliver on these new market requirements.

.  High Definition TV

HDTV is the future and the future will demand a whole new generation of satellite delivered broadcast services. As seen in Japan, Korea, Europe and North America, HDTV is driving new flat screen design and audio surround sound systems that can only be delivered immediately through high power satellite DTH operators. ProtoStar is dedicated to delivering the power, capacity and experience that will make HDTV a reality in Asia.

. ProtoStar Satellite booked by Agrani, PlanetSky

Subhash Chandra-promoted Agrani Satellite Services, India’s first private satellite company, is set to acquire 14% in the ProtoStar satellite at $64 million. Punit Goenka, Network operating officer, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) says, “We will invest $64 million over a five-year period. The satellite will help boost Dish TV’s transponder capacity and will pack in more channels for our DTH subscribers.” ProtoStar 1 will also have 12 C-band transponders and will launch from Kourou in French Guyana.

This will be ProtoStar’s first satellite. The company has already announced that it would be leasing out five C-band transponders to PlanetSky Ltd. of Limassol, Cyprus. So how has ProtoStar leased out the C-band transponders? “We are not on lease but on ownership terms for the satellite with ProtoStar. We are interested in the Ku-band transponders. It is a joint arrangement with ProtoStar,” clarifies Kumar. ProtoStar Ltd., a Bermuda corporation, and PlanetSky Ltd. of Limassol, said a strategically-important anchor-customer lease agreement today for PlanetSky to secure C band capacity on ProtoStar’s first satellite. The agreement provides PlanetSky with five 36MHz equivalent transponders for its rapidly-expanding global satellite systems that support GPRS and GSM broadband services, wireless, VoIP, broadcasting and radio transmissions In making the joint announcement, Philip Father, President and CEO of ProtoStar Ltd., and Gerasimos Bonanos, CEO of PlanetSky Ltd. emphasized how the agreement allows PlanetSky to extend the reach of its media and entertainment services for its customer base further into Asia from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. For ProtoStar, the agreement extends its customer base into Europe and the Middle East from its Asian base in Singapore.

A two-pronged agreement has been signed between ProtoStar Ltd. and Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (SingTel). The latter will provide the former with satellite control services, and the former will provide the latter with C-band capacity on ProtoStar’s first satellite. Under terms of the agreement, SingTel will augment its operations center in Singapore to provide telemetry, tracking and control (TT&C) services for the ProtoStar I satellite. ProtoStar I is currently being manufactured at Space Systems/Loral in Palo Alto, CA, for a May 2008 launch on an Arianespace launch vehicle. ProtoStar is developing a satellite  constellation of highpowered geostationary satellites that will provide a satellite network enabling robust direct-to-home (DTH) television services in Asia—Singapore and San Francisco, California.