PARIS — India’s direct-to-home satellite television market, already the world’s largest with 56.5 million subscribers as of mid-2013, is expected to grow by an average of 6 percent per year to 2023, according toEuroconsult, the Paris-based market research firm.
While that is slightly less than the 7 percent-plus annual growth since 2008, it is still an enormous market opportunity for those who can negotiate the regulatory maze to get access to it.
The position of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as both competitor and referee in approving satellite orbital slots, deciding whether non-Indian operators will get landing rights and even setting prices, is long-established.
It is also regularly criticized by the U.S. and other governments.
The Euroconsult market survey, “India Satcom Markets 2014,” looks mainly at C- and Ku-band satellite capacity for direct-broadcast television but says the development of high-throughput satellites would create new demand for satellite services in addition to the conventional capacity for television delivery.
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