French company Thales Alenia Space designed Bangabandhu-1 and has already carried out several test runs. It is now waiting to hand over the satellite to the launching station in Florida, USA. Initially, the launch was scheduled for Victory Day-2017, but was postponed until this March after Hurricane Irma and subsequent floods hit Florida where the launching station is located.
Bangabandhu-1 would take eight days to reach its orbital slot at 119.1 degrees East. The satellite will need three weeks to reach its exact position in space, said concerned officials, adding that it would be ready for commercial use in another two months.
Built at a cost of about USD 350 million it will save about USD 14 million per year–so it will take sometime for it to cover its costs. Its services can also be leased to other bidders. It has a lifetime of 15 years. Bangabandhu-1 is expected to provide services to all South Asian countries as well as Indonesia, the Philippines, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, if its frequency is properly utilized. Currently, all private TV channels in Bangladesh use Apstar-7 satellite, which is at 76.5 degrees East. Only government-owned BTV uses Asiasat-7, another satellite, which is at 105.5 degrees East.
It will improve the Direct to Home (D2H) services, making people’s access to worldwide TV entertainment faster and easier. There are concerns that the launch of the satellite might lead to a monopoly in the country’s telecast industry. Currently only two companies — Beximco and Buyer Media Ltd — have the D2H license and they want to lease some of the transponders to sell to other TV channels. In our view such tendency must be regulated.
It is essential that such satellite can be used for distance learning, treatment, and weather forecasting facilities so as to maximize the public good–and not just for mere entertainment. It will be a challenge to ensure that we maximize both our earnings from the satellite and ensure that maximum benefit will accrue to the public through its service.
