Sun Outage: Satellite TV, internet may face disruption from 29 Sept to 6 Oct
A sun outage is a natural astronomical event that occurs twice a year for geostationary satellites. During this period, the sun aligns directly behind a satellite in the Earth's sky, relative to a receiving ground antenna
Television broadcasts and internet services relying on the Bangladesh Satellite-1 (BS-1) are likely to face temporary disruptions for eight consecutive days, from 29 September to 6 October, due to a natural phenomenon known as 'Sun Outage'.
Bite-Sized: What to know about Sun Outage from 29 Sept to 6 Oct
According to a press release from the Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited (BSCL), the total service interruption is expected to last for 81 minutes across the eight-day period, affecting both domestic and international clients.
A sun outage is a natural astronomical event that occurs twice a year for geostationary satellites. During this period, the sun aligns directly behind a satellite in the Earth's sky, relative to a receiving ground antenna.
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The sun's powerful solar radiation, which includes microwave energy, overwhelms the satellite's downlink signal.
This interference, known as solar noise, temporarily causes a loss of signal or degradation, leading to a disruption in communication and broadcasting services.
BSCL has released a daily schedule for the anticipated outages.
On 29 September, the disruption may last for three minutes between 9:35am and 9:38am.
On 30 September, it may last nine minutes between 9:32am and 9:41am.
On 1 October, the outage is expected to continue for 12 minutes between 9:30am and 9:42am.
On 2 and 3 October, the disruption may extend for 13 minutes each day between 9:29am and 9:42am.
On 4 October, the interruption is expected to last a minute less than the previous day, and on 5 October, it may last another minute between 9:29am and 9:40am.
On the final day, 6 October, the disruption may last eight minutes between 9:30am and 9:38am.
BSCL, which currently provides broadcasting services to 41 local and 14 international channels, stated that it will closely monitor the solar outage.
