AsiaSat, claiming contract breaches, has started legal actions against Indian broadcasting giants Zee Entertainment and JioStar. AsiaSat is being restricted from transmissions into India effective March 31st.

One of AsiaSat’s complaints is India’s restrictive access to satellite spectrum and India’s approach to foreign companies operating – or wishing to operate – in India’s expanding space and telecoms sectors. AsiaSat has reportedly begun dispute resolution although it has served notice on the Indian government via its space regulator IN-SPACe.

AsiaSat has significant Chinese ownership, with CITIC Ltd. and Carlyle Group holding stakes of approximately 50.50 per cent and 49.50 per cent respectively. Key broadcasters, including Zee Entertainment Enterprises and JioStar (part of Reliance Industries), must now move their services. Zee has already switched to Intelsat/SES and ISRO’s GSAT satellites. AsiaSat argues its contracts were global and customers are still bound to use its bandwidth worldwide, a claim broadcasters reject, citing ‘force majeure’ because of the regulatory ban, said a local report.

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Categories: Blogs, Inside Satellite, Policy, Regulation, Satellite

Tags: asiasat, india, Jio, ZEE