(15 May 2006 9:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Satellite services provider Lamhas has opened its first commercial uplinking hub for TV channels in Mumbai. The company offers facilities such as satellite bandwidth, automated server playout and uplinking in the newly-opened division.

The 16,500 square feet facility, located in the International Infotech Park above Vashi Railway Station in Navi Mumbai, is set up on an investment of about Rs 150 million.

"We got all the regulatory clearances for the teleport by December. The entire project was ready by March," says Lamhas Satellite Services Ltd (LSSL) co-promoter Manoj Shah.

The company offers multi-channel uplinking services in SDI (Single Document Interface), stat mix, routers, matrix, international video gateway, modulators, upconverters and NMS (network management system). Lamhas is also gearing up to provide flyaway kit service in Ku Band.

With the new facility, Lamhas has signed up three international teleports to provide its Indian clients international service. "We have tied up with teleports in Israel (RR Sat), New York (promoted by NRI entrepreneur Deepak Viswanath) and France (Globecast) for multi teleport set up to transport signals to any part of the world," states LSSL VP Wilfred Lobo.

Lamhas has already announced the card rate for the teleport facility. The entire package, which includes satellite bandwidth, automated server playout and uplinking facilities, cost Rs 1.2 million per month. Lobo said the company was presently in talks with various Indian broadcasters to offer the facility.

"We are targeting all channels who want to uplink from India. We have approached some of the leading broadcasters in the country," he says.

The company has booked a C-band transponder on Insat 4A to offer clients space on the satellite. Incidentally, Tata Sky will be using the Ku-band transponders from this satellite for its direct-to-home (DTH) service.

Speaking on the expansion plans, Lobo said Lamhas was looking at Delhi and Bangalore to set up its next teleport facility. "We will choose one of these cities. We have already acquired land in both the cities," he says.