[HCDX] Making Waves

[Mukesh Kumar <thecosmosclub@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Making Waves

Ashish Mitra
Posted online: Friday, February 09, 2007 at 0000 hours
IST

The history of News Broadcasting in India is much
older than that of All India Radio (AIR). 
The first ever news bulletin in the country went on
Air from the Bombay station on July 23, 1927 under the
Indian Broadcasting Company. 
A month later on August 26, 1927 another bulletin in
Bengali was broadcast from the Calcutta station. Until
1935, two bulletins, one each in English and
Hindustani and Bengali were broadcast from Bombay and
Calcutta. Tracing the history. 
Radio owes its development to two other inventions,
the telegraph and the telephone, all three
technologies are closely related. Radio technology
began as ?wireless telegraphy?. Radio can refer to
either the electronic appliance that we listen with or
the content listened to. However, it all started with
the discovery of ?radio waves? electromagnetic waves
that have the capacity to transmit music, speech,
pictures and other data invisibly through the air.
Many devices work by using electromagnetic waves
including: radio, microwaves, cordless phones, remote
controlled toys, television broadcasts and more. 

During the 1860s, Scottish physicist, James Clerk
Maxwell predicted the existence of radio waves; and in
1886, German physicist, Heinrich Rudolph Hertz
demonstrated that rapid variations of electric current
could be projected into space in the form of radio
waves similar to those of light and heat. 

In 1866, Mahlon Loomis, an American dentist,
successfully demonstrated ?wireless telegraphy.?
Loomis was able to make a meter connected to one kite
cause another one to move, marking the first known
instance of wireless aerial communication. 

Broadcasting in India had an unique history. In 1935
Radio broadcast began with All India Radio (AIR).
Thirty two years later in 1977 the first FM service
was launched in Madras. 16 years later in 1993, AIR
started selling time slots for private FM radio
broadcasting in five cities. The idea was getting
bigger by the day. Only six years later in 1999 the
Government privatized of FM - Phase I Policy. In 2001
licenses were started to be given to private radio
broadcasters while in 2005 announcement of Phase II
Policy of privatization of FM was made. 

Privatization of FM Radio in India


 
  
Internationally, FM radio broadcasting is the
preferred mode of radio transmission due to its high
quality stereophonic sound. 

In March 2000, the Government invited private sector
into FM radio broadcasting by opening up the
frequencies in the FM band (87.5-108 MHz). In this
Phase I Policy of FM radio privatization, private
operators were invited to bid for a 10-year license to
set-up and operate FM radio stations. The original
plan was to set-up 108 FM radio frequencies across 40
cities. 101 bids were received, aggregating to a
license fee of approximately Rs.4.25 billion. [Source:
FICCI Ernst & Young Report, 2004]. The unusually high
license fee structure and year-on-year annual
escalations of 15% hampered the FM radio growth. 

The Government?s Tenth Plan stipulates that private
operations are to be encouraged to provide FM radio
services in metros and small cities. They recently
announced Phase II of the privatization of FM radio,
which is an initiative in line with the roadmap laid
out in the Tenth Plan. A total of 338 channels in 91
cities across the country would be made available for
bidding by Indian private companies. 

Industry Size


The radio industry revenues for fiscal 2005 have been
estimated at Rs. 3.22 billion, and are expected to
grow by 14.3% to Rs. 3.68 billion by fiscal 2006.
(Source: Central Statistical Organisation,
?Advertising Expenditure Forecast?, October 2004,
Zenith Optimedia.). The state broadcaster - All India
Radio ?AIR?) contributed 55% of the industry revenues
in 2004, which has decreased from 100% in 2001.
(Source: ?Indian Entertainment Industry- An Unfolding
Opportunity?, FICCI-PWC Report, March 2005.) 

Globally, the share of radio in the advertising pie is
around 5% in countries where the medium is still in a
growth phase and around 10-12% of the advertising pie
when the medium reaches a mature phase. 

Satellite Radio


WorldSpace uses its two satellites, AfriStar? and
AsiaStar?, to broadcast digital-quality audio channels
to people around the world who want world-class
programming that is not available or rarely found on
local regional or national terrestrial radio. Each
satellite has three beams and each beam is able to
send up to 80 channels directly to portable satellite
radios. Inside each WorldSpace digital satellite radio
is a proprietary chipset designed to lock onto the
WorldSpace satellite signal in one?s region of the
world. 

No other option provides the variety of programming
that WorldSpace offers. Also, each WorldSpace
satellite radio is equipped with a data port that
transforms it into a wireless modem able to download
data to personal computers at rates of up to 128kbps.
Thus, the WorldSpace satellite radio can also
broadcast multimedia content. 

The WorldSpace digital satellite signal means no
fading, noise or interference. The system delivers
high quality digital sound in a coverage area of 14
million square kilometers. As long as you?re in line
of sight with the satellite, you?ll never lose the
WorldSpace signal. 

WorldSpace Satellite Radio


Broadcast from two satellites- AfriStar and AsiaStar,
were successfully undertaken in October, 1998 and
March, 2000, respectively. WorldSpace satellites are
?geostationary?, orbiting over the globe in fixed
positions more than 35,000 kilometers above the
equator. 

Using powerful spot beams, the satellites transmit to
three overlapping coverage areas approximately 14
million square kilometers each. Back on the ground,
each satellite is supported by three major components:
the Regional Operations Center (ROC); Telemetry,
Command and Ranging (TCR) Stations; and Communications
System Monitoring (CSM) Stations. Each component plays
a major role in ensuring the best possible digital
signal is received throughout the WorldSpace System.
Twenty-four hour monitoring by a dedicated team of
professionals further ensures uninterrupted signal
quality. 

WorldSpace Earth Stations


WorldSpace satellites use on-board processing to
enable program reception from many stations. Content
providers on the WorldSpace system can uplink their
programs via the traditional hub method, sending
broadcast signals to a central location for
transmission to the satellite. A second mode enables
use of smaller, more mobile Feeder Link Stations
(FLS). On-board processing technology converts these
multiple signals at the satellite, combining them into
a single downlink signal before transmitting them back
to earth. WorldSpace has engineered the entire
infrastructure with redundant systems to ensure
consistent and reliable service for our customers. 

WorldSpace Satellite Radio


WorldSpace is the only satellite radio service outside
of the USA, Japan, and South Korea. Through its
subscription-based service, WorldSpace broadcasts
news, sports, music and educational programming to
satellite radios throughout a global area that
includes more than four billion people. WorldSpace is
also credited with creating the evolution of satellite
radio. WorldSpace was the first to create and
broadcast programming via Company owned and launched
two satellites to deliver 100% digital audio and
exclusive WorldSpace created programming to satellite
radio receivers throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle
East and Africa. WorldSpace was also one of the
principal founding shareholders of XM Satellite Radio
in the U.S. and is responsible for some proprietary
technology and original programming and format
structure, which is currently used to broadcast to
over 6.5 million subscribers across the U.S. The
WorldSpace Global Content and Programming department
provides approximately 10% of the original content
music programming heard in America on XM Satellite
Radio. 

WorldSpace satellites provide coverage to areas across
Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle-East. Each
satellite has three beams, East, West and South.
Different channels are carried depending on the beam
one receives. 

Working of WorldSpace:


WorldSpace uses its two satellites, to broadcast more
than 100 digital-quality audio channels to people
around the world who want worldclass programming that
is not available or rarely found on local, regional or
national terrestrial radio. Each satellite has three
beams and each beam is able to send up to 80 channels
directly to portable satellite radios. Inside each
WorldSpace Satellite Radio digital audio receiver is a
proprietary chipset designed to lock into the
WorldSpace satellite signal in your region of the
world. 

Difference between WorldSpace and conventional radio:


Choice: WorldSpace provides over 100 channels of 100%
digital quality music, news, and sports, many
previously never available via radio throughout the
WorldSpace coverage area. 

Clarity: Listen to radio the way it was meant to be
heard, in full digital form that can be heard via
built-in speakers in portable receivers or run through
computer and in-home systems to provide sound quality
that cannot be found from terrestrial AM & FM radio.
In-car receivers allow you take your favorite
WorldSpace channel with you across town or across
countries. 

Also, each portable WorldSpace receiver is equipped
with a data port that transforms it into a wireless
?datacast? modem able to download data, streaming
video and multimedia content to personal computers at
rates of up to 128kbps. 

Coverage: The WorldSpace digital signal means no
fading, noise or interference. The system delivers
digital quality sound in a coverage area of 14 million
square kilometers. As long as you?re in line of sight
with the satellite, you?ll never lose WorldSpace?s
high-quality sound. 

WorldSpace broadcasts in the frequency 1467-1492 MHz
of the ?L? band. 

Depending upon where you are located and how much
one?s ship or boat shifts direction, one may need to
re-aim the receiver?s antenna periodically to maintain
a direct line-of-sight to the satellite.The number of
channels you receive depends upon which satellite you
are accessing and which beam(s) of the satellite cover
your location. You will be able to access over 40
audio broadcast channels.

Via
http://www.screenindia.com/fullstory.php?content_id=14872
Regards & 73?s
Mukesh Kumar
The Cosmos Club
Muzaffarpur 
INDIA.




		
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