MUMBAI: The successful launch of SES-12, which provides coverage over Asia will assist the acceleration of the country’s push towards a digital India and financial inclusion initiatives, according to a leading satellite industry expert as per a report by the Press Trust of India from London.

SES Video EVP global sales Deepak Mathur said, “The successful launch of SES-12 recently would help support India's growing direct-to-home (DTH) TV market, as more and more consumers in rural India embrace the medium.”

The government's vision to digitally empower India and transform connectivity in the country will see a push through the launch of the satellite, Mathur informed.

The senior executive at SES, one of the world's leading satellite operators, also pointed out that the satellite’s concentrated beams could also provide highly cost-effective capacity to enable in-flight connectivity services in line with the recent directive to allow mobile and internet services in Indian airspace by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

SES-12, which is uniquely designed with state-of-the-art wide beams and high throughput beams, was successfully launched onboard a flight-proven SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida, US, on 4 June 2018. Together with SES-8, it is expected to reach 18 million homes.

This satellite will provide coverage from the Middle East to Australia. The combination of two satellites will offer powerful Ku-band wide beams for broadcast and media applications, and high throughput spot beams for providing internet connectivity, reliable cellular services and content targeted at specific language groups.

The ever-increasing demand of audience will be addressed by the pay-TV operators as the satellite will provide reliability and scalability to elevate the viewing experience by adding more content and delivering good picture quality for high definition (HD) and ultra HD content.

Mathur explained, "With its dual capabilities of both wide beams and high throughput spot beams, SES-12 will serve to enhance connectivity for people and businesses in remote and unconnected parts across Asia, where providing rural connectivity and eliminating the digital divide is a key priority for many governments. SES-12 also brings augmented capacity to enable satellite broadcasting and DTH services across Asia-Pacific.”

Specifically over India, SES has five satellites - NSS-12, SES-8, NSS-6, SES-7 and SES-9 - currently operational. SES-12 will be replacing NSS-6 as the largest satellite to offer services and capacity over India.

The company's primary customer in the Indian market is Antrix, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), with whom it has worked to help augment the enormous demand for satellite connectivity over India.

Mathur also mentioned that ISRO has a pivotal role to play in the development of new space technologies and in making space more accessible, and affordable. SES is also exploring potential areas of collaboration with Indian partners to see how they both can work together to advance the development of space technologies.