Artist’s rendition of the Thaicom 7 satellite. Photo: Thaicom

[Via Satellite 11-13-2015] A multi-transponder order from Grant Investrade Ltd (GIL) on Thaicom 7 has filled out all the remaining available capacity on the satellite, Thaicom announced Nov. 12. The company is using C-band capacity to provide digital cable TV services through a Headend-In-The-Sky (HITS) system.

The HITS service, branded “NXT Digital,” will help enable a transition to digital distribution, and allow customers to choose channels through a satellite multiplex across India.

“It is one of India’s national missions to roll out Digital Addressable Systems (DAS) of broadcasting all over the country and we believe ‘NXT Digital’ is a significant step toward this goal,” said Tony D’Silva, managing director at GIL.

Thaicom 7 launched in September 2014 to provide media and data services for entertainment and telecom industries in Asia and Australasia at 120 degrees east. Thaicom’s next satellite, Thaicom 8, is scheduled to launch in 2016 to expand the operator’s servicing capacity and footprint in the region.

Castle Media, an International Organization for Standardization (ISO)-certified broadcast consultancy and project management company, is tasked with the design-to-delivery of the HITS service, including setting up a broadcast facility and back-end facility for Short Message Service (SMS), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), billing, Conditional Access System (CAS) and other mission critical components and services.

“We’ll continue to work closely with Thaicom to upscale our transponder requirements as our business grows over the next few years, on the back of a strong push by the government to make India a digital nation,” said Vynsley Fernandes, executive director at Castle Media.