GatesAir Scoops FM Radio Contracts In India

GatesAir has won turnkey FM radio contracts in India with private broadcasters Sambhav Media and ENIL.

The deals comprise Flexiva FAX air-cooled transmitters, auxiliary RF equipment and rigid transmission line for 30 stations, extending GatesAir’s market-leading share of FM radio transmitters in India. Both contracts also include turnkey installation, commissioning and technical support services through in-country partner Horizon Broadcast Electronics.

GatesAir outperformed competitive solutions across transmitter size, energy efficiency and brand recognition to win both deals. The Sambhav Media project covers 13 FM radio stations (two 5kW and 11 3kW sites) that the broadcaster won following the FM Phase-III auction for new private FM broadcast licenses. Each station will also receive a 1kW backup transmitter, with all sites operating in fully redundant 1+1 configurations. Deliveries are now in progress, with seven stations on the air in the Gujarat region. The project marks Sambhav Media’s entry into the radio broadcast space.

"Based on our experience and knowledge of the radio broadcast market, we will only choose premium products that remove our transmission worries," said Jagdish Pavra, Director of Engineering, Sambhav Media. "After many discussions with different manufacturers in the premium market, we selected GatesAir transmitters because of their high efficiency, smaller footprint and, most important, the redundancy within their transmission systems. We are now on the air at seven sites with GatesAir transmitters, and are very happy with their performance as well as the services GatesAir provides."

The ENIL deal covers two purchases, including 14 stations won in the FM Phase-II auction. Each will install one 5kW transmitter. The second order includes two 10kW transmitters and one 6kW model across three additional stations. In selecting GatesAir and its Flexiva transmitters, ENIL emphasized improved reliability and total cost of ownership over its previous long-term supplier as key factors.

Flexiva transmitters leverage GatesAir’s PowerSmart 3D designs to reduce size, weight and power consumption. These three operational benefits were paramount to each broadcaster’s decision, in addition to the company’s visibility throughout India.

"The use of common transmission infrastructure for broadcasters in India often means that each broadcaster has limited real estate," said Rich Redmond, President and Managing Director, International for GatesAir. "Our PowerSmart 3D architecture optimizes transmitter size and weight, enabling our customers to comfortably install Flexiva transmitters in tight spaces. Furthermore, each customer's reliability, performance and efficiniency evaluations included electricity cost comparisons between GatesAir and competitive transmitters operating today in India. This clearly demonstrated that GatesAir would provide the best signal while reducing annual bills, and improving long-term total cost of ownership."

Redmond adds that the reputation of its partner Horizon Broadcast Electronics as a service-oriented transmission expert put GatesAir over the top in both cases. In addition to installation and commissioning, Horizon will handle all post-installation support include spare parts delivery and on-site maintenance.