The VSAT technology is visually associated with satellite dishes that receive and transmit radio signals——but the term very small aperture terminal includes a Radio Frequency Transceiver (RFT) and a single-box hardware device (indoor unit), which decodes these signals and makes them readable by the connected user device (server, PC, printer, phone/fax, EPABX).
Multiple user devices receiving these signals from a single satellite dish and VSAT make up a Local Area Network (LAN) usually within one building or city. A number of such satellite dishes and VSATs along with the central transmitting satellite dish form a Wide Area Network (WAN), spanning across a region or the entire country.
A VSAT network has the capacity of carrying data, video, and voice signals. It also provides broadband internet service directly to the end user, which is particularly useful in remote locations. The same satellite that provides VSAT services is also used in transmitting television signals—in India the opening up of the Ku band wavelength has made Direct To Home (DTH) beaming of television channels possible.
Comparisons
In each category of service VSATs face competition from terrestrial networks. The capital costs of setting up terminals were higher but their operating costs were lower than terrestrial transmitters like cable or wireless. Broadband internet through VSATs is more reliable and easy to set up; moreover it does not require complicated hardware (or software) to connect directly to the end user device. And it is most secure for companies to manage their countrywide operations without logging into the unsafe and virus-infected World Wide Web.
These comparisons no longer hold true. In the last few years the emergence of wi-fi and wi-max technologies, the increasing use of mobile internet access, and even the provision of broadband access by traditional telecom operators has made investment in VSAT for internet or voice/fax communications expensive and unnecessary.
The fast-spreading networks of optic fibre cables have also given companies the option of using terrestrial transmissions for their operations. So recently there has been a decline in the sale of VSAT satellite dish terminals worldwide.
However in terms of security and reliability VSAT networks are still more relevant for corporate entities and government departments.
Intranets
The largest user of VSAT worldwide is the US Postal Service. The other big names using these services are Ford, BP/Amoco, Wal Mart, India’s National Stock Exchange, China’s Shenzen Stock Exchange, Volkswagen Brazil, Japan’s Bridgestone Tyres, and India’s National Informatics Center.
A corporate intranet should be only accessible to the headquarters and branches of the company, and such reliability is provided only by VSAT networks. Secondly as the company operations expand the network can be safely expanded simply by adding standalone terminals at every new branch.
VSAT networks provide security and confidentiality of communications in transmitting and receiving sales figures & orders, as well as for receiving internal communications, parts ordering, service bulletins, and interactive distance learning training courses from the manufacturer. For retail chains like Wal Mart, the processing of credit card transactions and their instant recording at the company headquarters is made possible through VSAT terminals. The same is the case with gas and petroleum retailers. For such security and confidentiality money transactions bank branches also rely primarily on VSAT networks.
India and the VSAT policy
India’s policy towards VSAT technology was initially marked by over-regulation and high cost. The compulsory licensing provisions and steep entry fees stunted the growth of VSAT services. Although now the inflated costs have been brought down they are still inflated when compared with other countries. This becomes clear from the figures provided in the latest Department of Telecom policy:
(a) Registration Fee: Rs. 10,000/- per VSAT.
Lease of VSAT Annual lease charges including maintenance
(i) For data service: Rs. 3.00 lakhs/ VSAT/ Year
(ii) For data & occasional voice service in closed user group:
Rs. 3.50 lakhs/ VSAT/ year
(iii) Cost of modules repaired/replaced will be charged extra.
(iv) Minimum lease period: One year
(b) Installation charges: Rs. 15,000/- per VSAT
(c) Satellite Access charges: Rs. 10,000/- per month/VSAT
(d) Occasional voice calls within closed user group:
Rs. 85/- per minute or part thereof
(e) Volume charges: Rs. 50/- per kilo segment (1 kilo segment is equal to 64 kilobytes)
(f) Minimum usage charges: Rs.5,000/- per VSAT/ month
Other restrictions and conditions are meant for intranets, called here Closed User Groups (CUG):
i) Interconnection with PSTN not permitted (The telecom policy in India has always been to disallow voice traffic through VSATs)
ii) Interconnection with other VSAT networks shall be permitted through the Hub on case-to-case basis, wherever the CUG nature of the network is not violated.
iii) Interconnection with terrestrial data lines leased by customers of VSATs shall be permitted on case-to-case basis, wherever the CUG nature of the network is not violated.
iv) Interconnection with terrestrial data lines of a public nature shall be permitted through the Hub provided it is connected to a public data network such as Internet/ INET.
v) Interconnection with overseas office of the CUG for data transfer purposes shall be permitted on a case to case basis subject to the condition that the connection should be between the hub and the server of the overseas office through a leased line passing through an international gateway which can be monitored for security purposes.
vii) Internet/INET:- The hub of VSAT licensee shall be allowed to be connected to an internet node of his choice through a lease line taken from Telecom service provider who is authorised to sell bandwidth/ leased line. Similar inter-connection of the Hub with INET is also permitted.
viii) Other media to provide for redundancy:- Switchover between a terrestrial CUG network and a VSAT based CUG network belonging to the same licensee shall be permitted for redundancy purpose.
Voice Traffic:- Occasional voice traffic is permissible strictly within the CUG.
Data Rate (Transmission speed):- A maximum data rate upto 512 Kbps per VSAT (including all carriers) in star configuration and upto 2 Mbps in mesh configuration.
India was also one of the only countries to disallow Ku-band satellite communications. It continued to use C-band and extended C-band for communications and transmission of television signals till early 2000.
The reason for not investing in the Ku-band was that the shorter wavelength signals tended to absorbed by rain and snow clouds. In a country with annual periods of monsoon this technology was not considered viable. But with improving technology in the construction of satellite dishes and the increasing power of satellites, this small hurdle could be overcome.
So in 2000 the government permitted VSAT operators and Internet Service Providers to buy broadband slots on foreign satellites provided that the applications went through the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). In April that year ISRO successfully launched the INSAT-3B with Ku-band transponders into space.
Subsequently the INSAT-4A was launched in 2005 with more Ku-band capacity. This opened up the Direct to Home (DTH) service of satellite TV channels, which had earlier been beamed from foreign satellites. But the DTH segment was hurt by the failure of the INSAT-4C satellite launch in June 2006—the other launch will be of the INSAT-4B from Guyana on an Arianne Space Rocket.
Apart from the National Informatics Center, Stock Exchanges, Banks, and Companies, India’s Department of Posts has made the fullest use of the VSAT technology. The reach of the century old postal department takes it to the remotest desert village and mountain hamlet—places where the telephone and even roads have not reached. For this reason the provision of internet services like printed e-mail, letters, and greeting cards has been made possible through its VSAT network. The DOP also acts as a bank and depositor for the rural populace and the VSAT network is useful in making speedy delivery of money orders.
From the DOP website:
Money Order transmission through VSAT Network
India Post, in its endeavour to reduce the transit time for transmission of Money Orders, set up a network of 150 Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) High Speed VSAT Satellite Money Order (SMO) stations across the country during the Ninth Five Year Plan. These 150 SMO Centres are in turn connected to 1,486 Extended Satellite Money Order (ESMO) Stations over dial-up connection. 15.10 Million Money Orders were transmitted through this VSAT network during 2004-05. The Software Development Centre located in Postal Training Centre, Mysore, developed the application software for transmission of Money Orders.
Corporate e-Post
1.26 The corporate version of e-Post service was launched on 18th October, 2005 by Hon’ble Minister for Communications and IT during the closing celebrations of the Sesquicentennial Year of India Post. The corporate version of e-Post would enable:-
• Simultaneous sending of a message to 9,999 addresses.
• Scanning of the message at the premises of the senders. This will enable the corporate customers to prepare their message on their official stationery, scan it and then send it from their own computers.
The value added postal services offered by India Post in recent years include Speed Post, Business Post, Express Parcel Post, Greetings Post, Data Post, Speed Post, Passport Service, Bill Mail Post, e-Post and e-Bill Post. In the area of financial services, new services introduced include facilities for International Money Transfer, Electronic Fund Transfer, Electronic Clearance Services, Warrant Payment, Sale of Mutual Funds and Bonds etc.
Corporate experiments
In tune with other corporate entities India’s textile giant Skumars also set up its own VSAT intranet in 1999. However they saw an opportunity in entering the e-commerce market because at that time PC penetration (and therefore the reach of the internet) was very low. Their aim was to set up e-commerce kiosks in league with local franchisees to provide customers with service like ordering goods, obtaining distance education, and posting classified advertisements. And this vast network was to be connected through VSATs, totally bypassing the nascent Internet—ironically the name chosen for this venture was Skumars.com!
It turned out to be a fiasco due to the over-ambition of the Skumars group and the rigid regulation and high price of setting up VSAT networks in those days. Moreover the whole concept of the internet was to provide choice, reviews of products, and interaction between customers, which such a closed network negated.
A smaller but more successful corporate VSAT venture was Delta Innovative Enterprises (DIEL). Like the postal department DIEL provided facilities for transmitting e-letters, e-faxes, and e-mail from and to remote locations. Its services are limited to the southern state of Tamil Nadu. But both Deltamail and Deltafax cost only Rs. 10 per page, while e-mail is charged at Rs. 5 per message, making it cheaper than the services of the Postal Department. DIEL’s services are under threat from the growing popularity of cellular networks and the ease of communicating and sending messages via cell phones.
Opportunities
There are many exciting growth areas for the VSAT services business. Many corporates used their VSAT networks to educate (and interact with employees) in the branches. This evolved into the transmission of education courses like the MBA and now covers the entire band of educational courses taught privately or even in traditional schools and colleges. Here again ISRO has its edusat (educational satellite) program to cater for the vast Indian population.
VSAT distance education scores over internet-based e-learning because of the real-time exchange of visuals, voice, and data between students and teachers. The only drawback of course is the high cost of setting up the network. Related to this is the field of Telemedicine, where a specialist surgeon can instruct another doctor in the village to perform an emergency procedure on his patient who neither has the time nor the money to travel hundreds of miles to the city.
In the rural areas the lack of cell towers limits the use of mobile phones. In the extremely remote regions VSAT terminals are the most convenient windows to the outside world. This is especially true in the midst of natural calamities like earthquakes and floods. The problems in rural areas relate to the positioning of the terminal unit—it is so sensitive that even slight changes in direction due to strong winds or accidental movement of the dish cuts transmissions from the satellite.
Secondly the VSAT units are highly sensitive to changes in voltage and have to be properly earthed in order to protect the equipment from overloading and from lightning strikes. India is normally supplied with a 220V current, but the voltage can vary from 150V to 280V. To provide a stable voltage of 220V to the VSAT units, an offline Constant Voltage Transformer (CVT) and an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) unit have to be used.
Commercial providers of VSAT services in India (17/05/2006)
Essel Shyam Communications Ltd.
HCL Comet Systems and Services Ltd.
Comsat Max Ltd.
TVC India pvt. Ltd.
Bharti Televentures Ltd.
Hughes Escorts Communications Ltd.
Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers Ltd.
ITI Ltd.
Tata Services Ltd. (TSL)
Software Technology Park of India (STPI)
Infinium India Ltd.
