Asia-based global satellite company ABS has soft launched a free-to-air satellite platform for India. ABS co-founder and chief executive, Tom Choi, said on Monday that the new free-sat platform would launch formally in August this yearwith about 80 channels.

The ABS platform will be offered from the ABS-2 satellite.

Speaking on the sidelines of this year’s Casbaa Satellite Industry forum in Singapore, Choi said ABS was focusing on areas “where we can be competitive in the long term”.

This includes investing in and creating direct-to-home projects for specific countries.

ABS “will control everything... including set-top boxes”, Choi said.

Choi said India currently has 35 million boxes not connected to DTH services.

The new platform comes about six months after ABS appointed India satellite/cable veteran Rajiv Khattar as president for South Asia.