Tata Play, a direct-to-home (DTH) service provider, announced yesterday that it has begun beaming television channels from its dedicated GSAT-24 satellite, which it leased from the Indian space agency ISRO.

GSAT-24 was launched specifically for Tata Play (previously known as TataSky) in June last year, increasing its carrying capacity to 900 channels and covering the length and breadth of the country, including remote locations such as the Andaman and Nicobar islands, PTI reported from New Delhi.

Commenting on the development, MD & CEO Harit Nagpal said this will help Tata Play more, including the regional and Gyanwani TV channels, which would be launched by the government.

“This will help Tata Play to carry 900 channels from the present 600. It will also improve signal reception and channel capacity,” he said, adding, “it will become the largest satellite bandwidth provider among all DTH platforms.”

This is the third made-in-India satellite which Tata Play is using for its DTH service. Now all the new customers would be served from the new one.

ISRO’s commercial arm NSIL (New Space India Ltd) had partnered with Tata Play, a joint venture between Tata Group and Rupert Murdoch-owned 21st Century Fox.

Meanwhile, a government statement put out — accessed by Indianbroadcastingworld.com — said, the announcement event was held at Tata Play’s Broadcast Centre in New Delhi.

Information & Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra expressed his happiness and said, “Congratulations to Department of Space (DoS) and Tata Play for successfully commissioning GSAT-24. This event unlocks one more step towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat and self-reliance in the field of space and communication.”

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S. Somanath said, “GSAT-24, a 4-tonne class communication satellite built by ISRO for providing DTH services, is fully operational at its maximum satellite capacity, following exhaustive in-orbit testing. This momentous achievement signifies a revolution in India’s telecommunications space, driven by cutting-edge indigenous technology.

“It serves as a tribute to our nation’s aerospace prowess and heralds India’s successful entry into the Demand Driven Mission segment.”

NSIL CMD Radhakrishnan Durairaj added that GSAT-24 was the first demand-driven communication satellite mission undertaken by NSIL after space sector reforms and would usher in a new era of satellite television for India.

The GSAT-24 is a 24-Ku band communication satellite launched by ISRO only to cater to the requirement of Tata Play’s DTH application needs.