GatesAir, a Thomson Broadcast subsidiary dedicated to wireless content delivery, has amplified its South Asia presence with the hiring of Tamjeed Ahmad as Regional Sales Manager effective immediately. Reporting to Head of APAC Sales Jacky Yee, Tamjeed will represent GatesAir across India as well as Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, with a focus on developing new business opportunities for FM radio and digital television.
Tamjeed comes to GatesAir with nearly 20 years of broadcast industry experience, including 15 years of direct sales experience in South Asia. Those experiences, including multi-year stretches with AJA Video Systems and Imagine Communications, position Tamjeed for success in a vast region that requires an understanding of working across diverse business cultures.
The timing of Tamjeed’s appointment aligns with a groundswell of new business opportunities across India, anchored through the Government of India’s recent announcement of the e-Auction of private FM channels. The initiative will bring up to 730 FM channels to 234 uncovered “Tier II/III cities,” including many with rural populations that will receive private FM broadcast services for the first time. Most of the transmission points for new FM signals will require new or updated RF infrastructure that will at minimum require new FM transmitters.
GatesAir has also been a participant in early ATSC 3.0 trials in New Delhi as the Government of India considers a transition from the DVB-T2 digital TV standard. The transition to ATSC 3.0 would fulfill a “Broadcast-to-Everything” model aimed at reducing wireless network congestion; GatesAir’s Maxiva UHF TV transmitters would be an important element within the converged broadcast and broadband infrastructure for linear, over-the-air TV delivery.
In addition to direct customer interaction, Tamjeed will work closely with longtime in-country partners to ensure optimal support across all phases of future FM and TV radio projects. That includes working collaboratively with Horizon Broadcast in India for upcoming FM licensing projects, with the two companies providing turnkey services across site planning, systems design, equipment procurement (including third-party products), installation, commissioning and post-sales support.
“GatesAir has a strong reputation throughout India and adjacent South Asia due to a long track record of successful broadcast projects, including the previous FM licensing initiative in India ten years ago,” said Ahmad. “GatesAir transmitters throughout South Asia are celebrated for their proven reliability in harsh climates, energy-efficient operation and longevity of service, within many analog and digital transmitters installed 15 years ago more still providing the same consistent performance today. I look forward to leveraging my regional knowledge and experience, including many long-standing customer relationships, to bring GatesAir’s value proposition and exceptional customer service to more broadcasters throughout the region.”
New FM broadcasters in India will likely find exceptional value and choice in GatesAir’s Flexiva GX family of transmitters, which includes seven analog-only models to address most low-to-medium power requirements. Broadcasters considering a future transition to digital radio also have multiple power level options across GatesAir’s Flexiva FAX and FLX transmitter families; all three Flexiva families can integrate optional Intraplex IP Link 100e modules to receive broadcast signals contributed over IP networks.
“While Tamjeed’s regional experience brings substantial strength to our growing APAC team, his passion for the broadcast industry is clear given his depth of knowledge on the technology side of the business,” said Yee. “That includes a detailed understanding of RF infrastructure that dates to his earliest work experiences in broadcast. We welcome Tamjeed to our team and look forward to his ideas and contributions as we prepare for a busy future throughout an increasingly active South Asia region.”
This story first appeared on RadioInfo.asia