27/08/02

Livechat tonight 9pm NZ and 8.30pm Syd time onwards in the chatroom

We have a very interesting item in the news section, written by the Technical department here at apsattv.com be sure to read in the News section "The future of New Zealand's Telecommunication Services" its a good followup to all the recent broadband internet talk in the NZ media lately

More talk of broadband internet for rural areas, and it seems New Skies have had a change of plans as to the move of the NSS 803 satellite. Maybe no demand in the Pacific for it?

New channel mentioned the other day "Shine TV" from the Rhema group, will be via Optus B1 on Sky NZ. Now the important part an email from them (Rhema) "Thank you for your enquiry. The Shine TV channel on Sky TV will not be free to air. You will need to subscribe to the Sky TV basic package to receive the signal as it will be encoded. If you do not already subscribe to Sky a special Sky TV package will be made available to members of Rhema Broadcasting Group. This will be announced soon." So you will need Skys box and to pay a monthly rental fee for the pleasure of watching "Shine tv" I expect it would be available as part of the basic , Tv1,2,3,4,Prime,Trackside package. But then you have the pleasure of paying $20 a month decoder rental fee. This is a Prime example of people in the NZ satellite broadcasting scene having no clue. Does the Rhema group even realize just a tap of the dish to the left is the professional Trinity channel broadcasting to Australia and NZ totally FTA with no charges. I have emailed them with some facts and am waiting for their response.

Just for fun

Try and get, B3, B1 and Jcsat 2a (Cband mormons) on a 1 meter dish setup (So when the time comes you can provide "Religion" installations) Those in Australia will have to make do with just the 2.(Lucky them, oops)

From my Emails & ICQ

From Optus

Subject: Aurora Update

Dear All,

We wish to advise of the following upcoming changes on the
Aurora Platform. We trust this will assist you with any customer queries &
minimise the impact on our help-desks.

1/10/02 - SBS South East TV service to move from TV Ch 46 to TV Ch 2
1/10/02 - SBS Western Australia TV service to move from TV Ch 48 to TV Ch 3
1/10/02 - SBS South East Radio service to move from Radio Ch 64 to Radio Ch 15
1/10/02 - SBS Northern Territory Radio service to move from Radio Ch 65 to Radio Ch 16
1/10/02 - SBS Western Australia Radio service to move from Radio Ch 66 to Radio Ch 20

2/9/02 - 1/10/02 - For the month prior to the above changes,all services will be played out on both channels. There will also be an EPG message visible on the current channels, advising of the change of channels on 1/10/02.

2/10/02 - 9/10/02 - For the week after the above changes,there will be EPG messages visible on the old channels advising of the new channel numbers to which the services have moved.

For any further queries, you can contact us on sss@optus.com.au or 1300 301681.

Regards,
Satellite Support Services
"Yes" Optus
Service Out of this World!

From Mark

Craig,

How do you figure out what size dish you would need by looking at a
footprint.

Cheers
Mark

(Craigs comment, good question it also depends on the Fec setting of the service as well. I will try and get a chart up that explains it tommorow, a good item to have on the tech pages)

From the Dish

PAS 2 169E 3901 H "TV Chile"is now Fta

Optus B1 160E 12644 V "Nui FM" has started Fta, SID 1103, Apid 661.

Apstar 1A 134E 4060 V "EuroSport News" has started Fta, Sr 7140, Fec 1/2, PIDs 34/35. (Northern Australia should get this one pretty easily? reports please the Fec 1/2 should make it lockable with less signal level)

Asiasat 3 105.5E 3840 H "The Channel V Chinese info card" has left.

Intelsat 704 66E 3805 R "Globecast FT" mux with Sky News has started NDS, SR 22900, Fec 3/4, SID 4, PIDs 515/640, East hemi beam.

NEWS

Optus puts rural folk in the loop

From http://www.nzherald.co.nz/

Australian carrier Optus has begun selling a satellite broadband service that will appeal to rural internet users left out of the broadband loop. But it comes with hefty set-up and data costs.

Optus hopes to repeat the success it has had in remote parts of Australia - where hundreds of schools beyond the reach of the DSL (digital subscriber line) services of Telstra and Optus are receiving distance learning materials via satellite.

Data from New Zealand would be bounced off the satellite to the Optus hub in Sydney and out to the internet from there.

The service allows a download speed of up to 200Kbps (kilobits per second) with an upload speed of 77.6Kbps nationwide.

Most people will require a 1.2m satellite dish to access the service. In hard to reach places a 1.8m dish will be required.

But those wishing to buy their own dish will have to stump up around $8300. A $95 per month download fee would then be charged.

Leasing would cost customers $371 a month for a 36-month contract or $288 a month for 60 months.

All of the plans come with a relatively restrictive download cap of 250MB of data a month. Extra downloads were charged at 18c per megabyte.

Optus' country manager for New Zealand, Tony Hill, said a handful of customers, including a Government department, used the service. Hill put the high cost of the service relative to DSL down to the inherent costs of operating the satellite. The service would not be suitable for supporting VoIP (voice over internet protocol) phone calls.

An option to cut down costs would be for communities or clusters of businesses to share a satellite link, splitting the cost of buying the dish and the monthly data charges.

Optus was keen to facilitate that, but the networking of PCs sharing the one connection would be left up to the customer.

Auckland company Niche Media International has been recruited as a reseller of the service.

Niche would sell the service but it also had a contract with Sky to roll out a number of local TV channels that would soon become available via satellite.

Niche spokesman Nicholas Samitz said the company would start with a channel tailored to the rural community that would be available free to air to Sky subscribers.

Niche offered a "rapid file distribution" service which would simultaneously send copies of files to remote offices throughout New Zealand and Australia.

Hill said Optus was involved in tendering for business as part of the Government's Probe project to get high-speed internet to all schools.

But splitting the tendering by region would not make Optus the most cost-effective option in some areas.

Optus would also struggle to meet the Government's data speed requirements.

"We would love to win all of the schools, but realistically, we are more effective in servicing the last percentage [that is hard to reach]. That would be where we have a distinct advantage."

But Optus was no stranger to providing broadband via satellite to the education sector - and working with the Government to do so.

Across the Tasman, the carrier is using Federal Government finance to provide interactive distance learning services for the schools, reaching 3700 students.

Live video streaming, application sharing, full duplex audio and two-way data transfer was possible via satellite servicing remote areas of the Outback.

Last March, Optus won a A$7 million deal to deliver high-speed internet access via satellite to all public schools in the Northern Territory connecting 4000 computers which are used by 35,000 students.

The Australian schools had aggregated their broadband requirements to secure better rates from Optus.

"In places like the Northern Territory, the schools have bought a chunk of bandwidth between them and they're getting speeds a lot higher than 200kbps as a result," said Hill.

Yet another satellite operator, Thai company Shin Satellite, would look to offer a satellite internet service when it launched its iPSTAR-1 satellite to service the Pacific region in late 2003.

Shin had also expressed fleeting interest in the rural broadband tenders.

Shin consultant John Humphrey said the structure of the tenders did not suit a national satellite service. Timing had also been an issue.

"The first generation gateway installation in Australia has not been finalised yet and we are unable to provide the required pricing for the RFI response in time," he said.

Shin would consider establishing a satellite earth station in New Zealand in preparation for iPSTAR-1's launch.

The gateway would cost around US$2.5 million to build.

Satellite access devices were forecast to cost around US$1000 next year, with prices dropping to US$750 within two years.

Users would have true high-speed internet with a maximum download speed of 8Mbps and an upload speed of up to 4Mbps.

High-speed satellite put on hold

From http://www.nzherald.co.nz/

Dutch satellite operator New Skies Satellites has put off a move to supply high-speed two-way data services up to 2Mbps into New Zealand.

The firm said in late May that its 803 satellite would be drifted into position and operational by late August, claiming it was just in time to meet demand for rural internet.

However, Alan Marsden, Sydney marketing manager for subsidiary New Skies Networks, has confirmed that plans for 803 are up in the air.

He said the satellite had been released from duties over the Atlantic but no decision had been made as to where it would now be used.

The original plan was to replace the older 513 satellite, which has about two years' life left. The 803 has a spot beam capability that the company has said is suitable for high-speed internet.

Marsden said the ultimate destination of 803 was always subject to market at that time and a decision would be made "in the near term".

Bulk-buying a sensible alternative

From http://www.nzherald.co.nz/

Editorial by Chris Barton

NZ Herald I.T Editor

The Government's Probe project to provide low-cost broadband access to schools is not only missing a crucial ingredient, but also may have blown a golden opportunity. Probe's raison d'etre is to get broadband capability to schools and regions where it is sorely lacking. But nowhere in the project does it say the schools have to buy the broadband once it's there. And at the prices Telecom charges many would still say "we can't afford it".

By holding open tenders for broadband capability region by region, the Government hopes to stimulate broadband competition and hence reduce prices. But by focusing on infrastructure capability rather than actual delivery to a customer - the schools - the Government has adopted an all too familiar hands-off, free market stance. Yes, Rogernomics is alive and well in the regions and supported, somewhat ironically, by none other than the people's bank saviour Jim Anderton and closet Rogernomes Trevor Mallard and Paul Swain.

But what else could the Government do? A more logical approach would be to aggregate the broadband demand of all the schools and put that out for tender. In other words ask the market for a price to actually supply all schools and in the process gain the benefit of buying bandwidth in bulk. Such a tender would provide a massive incentive to newcomers which would be guaranteed a cornerstone customer to help justify their investment. It would also provide broadband to schools for many years to come at massively cheaper rates than on the free market - a sweetheart deal broadband vendors would fall over themselves to offer in order to win the tender.

Interestingly, TVNZ's transmission arm BCL offered the Government just such a deal before Christmas. But it was rejected - apparently because the Government wanted to make tenders for broadband to schools contestable.

It's the type of deal Optus did in Australia last year with the New South Wales Department of Education and Training to deliver two-way, broadband internet access via satellite to 171 remote and rural schools in the state at a cost of A$4.5 million. That was followed up in July with Commonwealth Government funding of A$8 million to establish a shared broadband Interactive Distance Learning (IDL) communications infrastructure for New South Wales and the Northern Territory.

As well as showing a real commitment to improving education, the Australians have rapidly provided a broadband to regions that were unlikely to ever get it, and given a leg up to viable broadband competition to the Telstra monopoly. What the Australian politicians have grasped that our politicians have for so long failed to comprehend is the fundamental tenet of telecommunications - bigger is better. That aggregating demand - in this case the bulk broadband needs of remote schools in two Australian states - is a hugely tempting carrot to dangle in front of telcos and satellite operators.

Were our Government to do the same, it would have at least three satellite operators - Optus, New Skies and iPSTAR lining up with offers. Not to mention what BCL, Telecom, TelstraClear and probably quite a few other players would do. But interestingly, to reach all of New Zealand's remote schools, satellite would be the only option able to deliver. Even wireless network BCL with its nationwide infrastructure of transmission sites admits there's at least 10 per cent of rural customers it cannot reach. And Telecom admits at least 15 per cent of its customers cannot get its fast internet. Worryingly, many of those unreachable customers are schools - and quite a few are not just in remote areas, but actually in major cities.

As a pioneer customer to help offset a $10 million to $25 million investment, schools are hugely attractive to satellite operators because they are largely daytime users of broadband. That means the operators can resell the provisioned capacity to evening and night home and business users.

But unless the Government holds out such a carrot, satellite infrastructure is going to pass New Zealand by. Already New Skies is looking elsewhere because prospects for business in New Zealand look bleak. Optus can sell here, largely by piggybacking on its Australian investment, but its technology is seen by many as first generation broadband and will need more capital soon to compete with newcomers like iPSTAR. The latter is due to launch one of the world's biggest communication satellites at the end of 2003. It promises more bandwidth than ever thought possible via satellite (2Mbps return and 8Mbs forward) and smaller dishes costing less than US$1000.

It also has spot beams and, more importantly, a gateway beam earmarked for New Zealand. But unless there's a business case, that too may never eventuate.

But the real problem this Government faces in getting broadband to schools is overcoming the philosophical and economic constraints it introduced in 1989 under the guise of Tomorrow's Schools. That dogma - whereby individual schools take responsibility for the management of their running costs - means our children are largely cut off from the benefits of bulk-buying.

In telecommunications - and in particular broadband - that path could provide not only huge savings for our education system, but also huge benefits. Not just for our children, but also for residential and business broadband users who would gain access to more choice and greater competition.

But sadly our Government is still haunted by the ghost of Roger Douglas and seems unable to break free from his ill-thought-out economics. The result is most of our Tomorrow's Schools are increasingly looking like Yesterday's.

Pay TV reps lobby Govt

From http://theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,4973919%255E1702,00.html

PAY television companies Austar United Communications Ltd, Optus and Foxtel have joined forces to lobby the Federal Government on industry initiatives as they seek to drive penetration levels in Australia higher.

Austar chief executive officer John Porter said around 30 pay TV industry representatives including the three main platform providers - Austar, Optus and Foxtel - were in Canberra putting across the industry message to around 70 MPs and Senate members.

Channel providers including the BBC, Showtime, TV1 and Fox Sports were also represented.

The industry employed more than 4000 and so far had invested around $8 billion in infrastructure in Australia as well as $150 million on local drama development, according to Austar.

Mr Porter said the 20 or so industry bodies involved in talks were outlining the amount spent on production, and the amount of money that could be spent on the digitisation process.

The industry representatives are members of the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA).

"The response we're getting is it's really great to hear the industry speaking with one voice about what it has to offer and what it's doing," Mr Porter said.

He said the industry was not looking for specific legislative help, but added that antisiphoning laws could be updated, with around 70 per cent of sports listed as part of those laws not shown by free-to-air providers.

Those laws determine if free-to-air TV or pay TV receives the rights to major sporting events.

Also of concern to pay TV investors was potential multichannelling by the incumbent free-to-air networks, Mr Porter said.

Some free-to-air operators favour being able to offer multichannels, with a government review due by 2005.

Mr Porter said the pay TV industry had penetrated around 21 per cent of Australian households, a relatively low level compared to New Zealand where the level was 44 per cent.

"New Zealand launched multichannel TV in 1992 so they were at it around five years before we were, but there's no reason that when this industry is allowed to get some reasonable cost structures in place, that we can't start to grow towards those sorts of numbers."

Mr Porter said he remained supportive of Optus' proposed pay TV deal with Foxtel to share content particularly that bought from overseas given the status quo of the industry was unsustainable.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is currently examining the deal, which would reduce programming costs by giving Optus access to Foxtel's content.

It is understood the ACCC will move on to the next stage of its examination process later this week or early next week, possibly inviting comment from outside parties.

Mr Porter said the industry was also developing a campaign for the general public, and would launch that consumer message in around two weeks.

Foxtel is 50 per cent owned by Telstra, with the other 50 per cent split between News Corp and Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd; while Optus is owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd

(Craigs comment, part of the reason why levels in NZ are so high is we don't have any legislations to protect major sports. Also the government has no spare money to purchase sports event for screening on the FTA TVNZ Channels. Which means in most cases Sky ends up with them by default as there are no other pay tv providers in NZ. Therefore Sky has a monopoly on practically every sport worth watching. Do Australian viewers want this?)

The future of New Zealand's Telecommunication Services

From the Technical Department www.apsattv.com

Further to the story on Broadband services featured in today's NZ Herald News paper featured on my site tonight. I am able to provide a glimpse of the expanded range of telecommunication services that could be provided via a dedicated Direct Broadcast satellite initiative if it were developed for New Zealand.

Historically countries that have launched Domestic Satellites for expanded telecommunications services have been those that could not provided cost effective telecommunications solutions and services to rural and urban locations using traditional methods.

Countries that have embarked upon domestic satellite initiatives have spent Hundreds of millions of dollars building, launching their satellites and developing the on ground infrastructure required to support such a telecommunication's network. The nearest Domestic satellite network is found across the Tasman, Launched originally in 1985 Aussat now named Optus initially launched three Hughes medium powered A series satellites designed to provide expanded Telecommunications services through out Australia. These satellites and associated on ground satellite telemetry, and operations facility based at Belrose near Sydney. Seventeen years later they have launched a total of five satellites with the operational B series B 1 and B 3 nearing the end of their mission lifetime.

When Aussat was launched only governments could ever dream of launching and operating such a network due to the astronomic costs involved. However that was seventeen years ago and in seventeen years a lot of things have changed in the satellite industry.

Projects are being formulated to develop a new global network of small to medium satellites for private investors with limited funds and countries with average demand for telecommunications traffic to develop and establish satellite communication networks using their own in orbit satellites.

These new generation satellites will have a life span of 12 to 15 years. Taking New Zealand's Perceived telecommunications Requirements into consideration, New Zealand's first Domestic satellite would have to feature the following Payload criteria.

The payload configuration for Direct to Home and broadband multimedia services will have to correspond to the ITU frequency downlink coordination for ITU region 3 12.250 GHz to 12.750 Ghz.

Ideally each satellite should feature a minimum of 16 Ku (12 GHz) and several S band (2GHz) transponders. Its weight in flight would be 120 to 230 Kg and its solar wings will produce 1.5Kw to 2,5 Kw of power. From its orbital location ideally as close to New Zealand as possible without causing interference to other Countries satellites. The whole of New Zealand can be placed in a very tight Ku band 3 x 3 degree spot beam providing a much higher signal level allowing the use of smaller receive antennas.

By selecting 27 MHz as the transponder bandwidth, thus making 31Mbts of usable data available to Pay TV operators at FEC rates of R 3 / 4 identical to that currently used by Sky TV and TVNZ, on The Optus B series craft. These pay TV services could relocate to the new platform by simply repointing customers Receive antennas only.

Given the tight 3 X 3 degree spot beam centered on New Zealand Down link signal strengths of between 55 Dbw to 60 Dbw could allow the introduction of Flat plate Planner array antenna technology as well as the more widely used offset dishes.

By using such high power dish sizes 45cm to 60cm dish will provide improved receive performance. Rain fade, which plagues current satellite transmissions will cease to be such an annoying problem. Anticipating the customer's requirements C, Ku, KA, S and V band frequencies should be made available and be registered with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

Besides the traditional satellite services the addition of S band (2 GHz) transponders would make it possible to provide a cost effective two way satellite Internet and other interactive satellite services using the S band transponders for the return Path thus eliminating the traditional Telco twisted pair phone line return path.

Using a standard configuration this platform will meet all modern and prospective technical requirements and support all types of telecommunications service including the following:

(1) Direct to home Television and Radio.
(2) Videoconferencing
(3) Internet back bone conductivity
(4) Electronic News gathering
(5) Remote Area Television and radio distribution,
(6) Distance Education
(7) Telemedicine networks,
(8) Civil aviation networks
(9) Telephony, Data exchange in PSTN
(10) Corporate V sat networks
(11) Cable or microwave restoration
(12) Television programming distribution
(13) Internet broadband multicasting

The cost of manufacturing and launching such a Satellite for New Zealand has been estimated to be between US $ 50 to $60 million dollars trimming the length of time that the capital investment is required. Direct benefits are dramatic with increases in profitability for the satellite operator, and a reduction in technical and financial risks. As a direct result tariffs for the customer will be dramatically reduced enabling operators to offer less expensive but high quality satellite communications services.

This would be very beneficial to private investors or the New Zealand Government who wish to take full advantage of the new digital trend in satellite communications, but cannot readily afford a larger satellite costing up to US$ 300,000,000 to manufacture and launch. This new initiative provides the platform but does away with the extensive on ground infrastructure required to operate such a venture as the satellite operator carries out the day-to-day operational functions Leaving the marketing and provision of services to the marketing and Technical services company that is responsible for this part of the venture.

Using a standard 45cm dish installed on customers rooftops broadcasters and PayTV operators have the capacity to provide a total of 160 television channels including dozens of free to air services, ethnic TV and radio channels as well as two-way broadband Internet services as an initial start if the satellite platform was dedicated to multimedia services. A dedicated New Zealand satellite would have the capacity to provide enhanced telecommunications and broadcasting services for the next 15 to 20 years.

This could well become the standard size antenna required for Direct to home services such as Pay Television and Radio if New Zealand launches its own domestic Direct Broadcast Satellite.

Prasar Bharati, WSN reach agreement on terms for ICC cricket telecast

From indiantelevision.com

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Prasar Bharati has agreed to accept a third-party guarantee for minimum revenue from Nimbus Communications Ltd for the ICC cricket matches to be telecast on national broadcaster Doordarshan.

Doordarshan has bagged the terrestrial telecast rights after negotiations with World Sport Nimbus, a joint venture between World Sport Group and Harish Thawani's Nimbus Communications.

Though some doubts were raised initially, the decision was taken because of the legal validity of a third party giving the bank guarantee and the top honchos of Prasar Bharati decided to accept the offer. After all a bank guarantee is a bank guarantee.

The guaranteed payout varies depending on whether the cricket match is classified as A, B or C. But the average MG works out to between Rs 9 and 10 million. The per match MG varies between a low of Rs 7.5 million to a high of 15 million.

As per the agreement that was signed, Nimbus Communications and not WSN will issue a bank guarantee to DD for their share of the revenues. The escrow account will be used and reciprocal jurisdiction will apply.

However, Prasar Bharati has referred a clause of the contract between it and WSN to the I&B ministry for an opinion.

The contract with WSN stipulates that in case of any arbitration, it will take place in London under the rules of ICC. Prasar Bharati has been insisting that any arbitration, if necessary, should be done under the Indian laws and as per the Arbitration Act of the country.

"We have sought the ministry's advise on the issue and whether Prasar Bharati should insist on its stand on arbitration in India as per Indian laws, or agree to the offer of having the arbitration settled in London under ICC rules and regulations," a senior Prasar Bharati official said. The advise from I&B ministry is still awaited.

(Craigs comment of interest to those who can still get the DD channels)

26/08/02

Thumbs up! Sky NZ has a new FTA radio on B1, 12644 V Sr 22500 Fec 3/4 "Nui FM" good to see them adding radio and FTA like all National terrestrial tv and radio services Should be.

Thumbs down! Sky NZ after quite heavy tv promotion to "subscribe now see NZ defend its title in the Champions Cup Trophy in Sri Lanka". I open my new Sky Watch magazine to find they are only screening 8 of the 15 matches. Another half arsed lame effort from Sky. To go with their recent poor coverage of Cricket

New Mak TV Hindi mux can someone please check the signal for this in Sydney, current levels seem very weak, with a 2.3 meter dish not loading it.

Pan Pac Swimming from Japan, up there somewhere?

From my Emails & ICQ

From Bill Richards

Apstar 2R 76.5E

Unidentified Station

4108 Vert Sr 15200, Fec 3/4

Vpid Apid SID
1160 1120 31
1260 1220 32
1360 1320 33
1460 1420 34
1560 1520 35

All Chs transmitting Colour Test Bars

Regards
Bill

(Craigs comment, this should be the new MAK TV hindi mux which was supposed to start on the 24th)

From JSAT

New mux apstar2r

yes loads as 6 service channels 5 with test cards.
50% on my Dbox, 3m KTI , c/ku feed..
lower south west of WA..

regards jsat

From Andrew

New Mux Asia sat 3

Channel V analog on Asiasat 3 has been added to a new digital Mux on 4000H
SR26,850 7/8 this info is being displayed on the analog freq. It loads here
with 50% signal quality. 9 channels, 4 fta at present.

Channel V
Xing Kong
Phoenix Channel
Phoenix I

This Mux locks up the Satcruiser after 30 seconds on any channel. Weird.

From Duthie

There is a new sat channel coming in december on Optus B3
called Shine TV a christian channel and radio stations dont know if
thay will free I have emailed them just waiting reply.

(Craigs comment, this seems to be associated with www.rhema.co.nz I don't have any more details)

From Basset

Tarbs Chile Tv [panamsat 2] 3901 H 30.800 3/4 is now playing FTA, with a NTSC signal.

From Zapara (W.A)

Scan of Apstar2R @ at 76.5E

These found but won't load on Nokia PMT not found? anyone know how to get that worked out?

Maybe all data?

3680 H Sr 27893 Fec 7/8
4032 H Sr 4339 Fec 3/4
4120 H Sr 3905 Fec 1/2

3705V weak now not loading , Channel news Asia

Nokia Dvb software tip. You can enter I.F Freqs in MHZ in the Nokias tuner menu e.g 1130 just hit ok when you have enterd the freq

From Bonner Martin (NZ)

Big Brother wants to control our lives "TARBS"

Stand up and fight We all should voice our concern write to politicians,
have your say. TARBS wants it all their own way. We had a similar
suituation here in NZ some years ago where a satelite programme provider
hired private people to go looking for large dishes in back yards and
then potted them. I can't think of anything more low that what some big
business people are Their greed in my opinion makes them in my eyes the
lowest of the low.

Bonner Martin

(Craigs comment, interesting point about people going around potting people with the big dishes surely the Australian Ethnic Pay tv providers wouldn't take things that far?)

From the Dish

Agila 2 146E 4151 H "GMA Network and GMA Radio" have left (NTSC), moved to Measat 2. (To turn up on Pas 8 ku I bet)

Koreasat 3 116E 11900 L "SkyChoice" has started, enc., SID 403, PIDs 1072/1073.
Koreasat 3 116E 12450 HEBS Plus 1 and Travel & Leisure TV have replaced EBS 1 and Travel & Fashion TV on , enc., PIDs 1824/1825 and 1888/1889.

Asiasat 3 105.5E 3840 H "Channel V Chinese" has left (NTSC), replaced by an info card.

Yamal 102 90E 3588 L "TV Nord" has left , replaced by a test card.

Apstar 2R 76.5E 4108 V Five test cards have started Fta, Sr 15200, Fec 3/4,SIDs 31-35, PIDs 1160/1120-1560/1520.(Reports needed please)

PAS 10 68.5E 4114 H New FEC for the Geo Pakistan tests: 3/4.

NEWS

Press Release - TARBS warns against large satellite dishes

From http://www.tarbs.net/frames.htm?news/releasebody.asp?id=54~mainFrame

Released 8/21/02

TARBS Cautions Australia’s Multi-Cultural Communities Against Buying Expensive Satellite Dishes

Australia's premier multi-cultural Pay TV and Radio broadcaster, TARBS World TV, has warned Australia's multi-cultural communities against buying expensive, large satellite dishes to watch overseas programming.

TARBS World TV Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Regina Leviste-Boulos, said "A growing number of local councils across Australia are becoming increasingly concerned with the negative visual impact generated by large dishes and as a result, are now implementing tough, new restrictions against their use.

"We are concerned that a growing number of multi-cultural families are wasting as much as $3,000 to buy and install expensive satellite dishes to watch their home broadcasters, as they are running the risk that their local councils will order these dishes off their roofs," said Mrs Leviste-Boulos.

"Families are also running the risk of their satellites' transmission becoming encrypted without notice, or the broadcasters' satellite systems changing," she added.

For around $60 a month, families can watch programming from their homelands on the TARBS World TV Direct to Home satellite broadcasting system. TARBS now delivers a combination of quality multi-cultural broadcast services via small, unobtrusive 65 cm. dishes on roofs, which are guaranteed to meet local council regulations.

TARBS World TV is quickly moving to service more than 1 million multi-cultural households in city and regional areas across Australia with its extensive range of 65, 24 hour multi-lingual Pay TV channels, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Arabic, Italian, Filipino, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, Macedonian and Russian channels. Subscribers also receive six quality English language channels, with a range of other language channels and services to launch soon.

TARBS World TV is able to offer viewers the best in multicultural broadcasting via its exclusive long term programming joint ventures and licence agreements with the world's leading broadcasters and distributors.

TARBS World TV currently broadcasts its range of multi-cultural and English language Pay TV channels from its headquarters in Pyrmont, Sydney, through its Direct to Home satellite broadcasting system.

"By subscribing to TARBS World TV, households do not need to go to the expense and trouble of organising their own large dishes and then having to take the very real risk that either their channels may disappear or that local councils may ban the use of their dishes," concluded Mrs Leviste-Boulos.

For Further Information Call:

Emilio Simbillo, Jr Tim Allerton
Television & Radio Broadcasting Services City Public Relations
Ph: (02) 9776 2053 Ph: (02) 9281 7272

(Craigs comment, there isn't much we can say or do about this press release, let them use their scare tactics there will always be hobbyists around to enjoy whatever FTA is left up there. They can't get rid of us that easily!)

Broadband deadline extended

From http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2030317a28,00.html

The Government has extended the deadline for consortiums to express interest in providing high-speed Internet services to 14 New Zealand regions.

No responses had been received by the end of last week to a request for information (RFI) issued on July 23 and closing today. Project Probe director Tony van Horik says the deadline has been pushed out till September 9 in response to requests from potential participants.

None of the other timelines has changed. The Government expects to issue tenders and to have signed contracts for some regions by December.

As well as bringing broadband Internet and video-conferencing to New Zealand's 2700 state schools, Project Probe is expected to help people and businesses access improved data and voice services.

About 100 organisations asked for the RFI documentation, though Mr van Horik says not all are potential bidders.

The extension to the deadline is "absolutely not" an indication of lack of interest among vendors, he says. "If anything, it is an indication of the very serious work going into the proposals."

Three of the 14 regions - Southland, Northland and Wairarapa - are pushing ahead with their own community-based regional broadband initiatives.

The initiatives have been endorsed by the Government and are set to receive a share of the $30 million or so in government money set aside in the budget for the broadband rollout.

Steve Canny, Southland District Council special projects manager, says Southland expects to begin rollout of core infrastructure for its "whole of community" broadband telecommunications service in October.

The region has shortlisted three service providers, after receiving bids from eight consortiums and companies. Its appraisals are expected to be completed by September 16. The process will be reviewed by the Project Probe advisors.

Mr Canny has declined to reveal bidder names, but says one bid involves satellite. New Zealand's major telecommunications interests - Telecom and TelstraClear - are represented "in one way, shape or form, as either a lead bidder or component bidder".

Responses for the Northland tender were due by the end of last week. .

Robin McNeill, principal of Invercargill's McNeill & Associates, which is overseeing the tenders for Northland and Southland, was unable to say how many bids had been received for Northland on Friday, but says there were initial registrations of interest from three potentially "strong" bidders. "There could be other ones as well."

Initial recommendations are expected on September 23, followed by a more detailed analysis.

More than one month has been allowed for one bidder to provide proof of concept, though Mr McNeill says that, if the bidder has already been selected by Southland for proof of concept, the Northland trial will not be needed.

"There is a close cooperation between Southland, Northland and Wairarapa, so anything like a trial would be shared."

Geoff Copps, a spokesman for Smart Wairarapa - the local government and community-based organisation overseeing Wairarapa's broadband RFI - says that nine responses had been received by its deadline of August 16.

He says Smart Wairarapa is happy with their quality. A shortlist is due by the end of the month.

The three regional tenders require higher broadband speeds than the Project Probe RFI. Some observers are concerned that the technical specifications are too low for Project Probe.

There are also concerns that many regions will be unable to provide an informed response by a mid-September deadline to the Government's request for an indication of aggregated demand from communities and businesses in their region.

This may mean that consortiums would demand significant subsidisation from regional trusts or other regional funding sources, to offset the risk factor of going beyond schools.

Enough talk: Maharey ready to walk the walk



From http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?thesection=news&thesubsection=&storyID=2351206

Expect less talk and more action from new Broadcasting Minister Steve Maharey.

The Government's first term achieved few critical broadcasting aims, including turning TVNZ into a Crown-owned company with a public service charter.

Mr Maharey takes over broadcasting from Marian Hobbs, who asked the Prime Minister if she could "move on" from the portfolio, he said.

There are plenty of decisions to be made - from the questions of local content quotas for television and a strategy for digital television, to how TVNZ will pay for its charter obligations and whether the Government should push ahead with a controversial youth radio network.

"A lot of talking has gone on. I don't think people would thank me if they thought I was simply going to restart conversations with them," said Mr Maharey.

"I think it's my job to finish these things off."

He wants to work with television towards a voluntary quota for local content rather than a mandatory system.

"I think the best of all worlds is for industry to make the commitment and I think in radio they are keen to do that now," he said.

"If television could do the same, it would mean a low-cost regime which would deliver the local content we all want to see."

And he expects a "lively debate" on funding, including how taxpayer money spent on broadcasting is administered.

"What we've got to do is try to get a system in this very tight financial situation where each of the key players think it's fair, otherwise the pressures start to build on the problems of trying to get access to money. And that includes independent producers and the broadcasters themselves," he said.

"It's not something the Government has hands-on experience with, because we leave that to New Zealand On Air, but we do set the rules of the game, and that's what I want to make sure we get right."

Mr Maharey said the Government would be encouraging TVNZ to find alternative incomes, and no one wanted it run as "an old-style BBC, totally funded by the taxpayer" model of public service broadcasting.

He said digital television - the least-developed but most important broadcasting policy to be resolved - would give TVNZ the opportunity to earn more money from new channels.

But he would not comment on how he could guarantee TVNZ had access to a digital platform while the gateway was controlled by Sky Television.

"It is one of the most crucial things to decide on and the door is closing as more and more people take a Sky decoder and the market dominance of Sky grows," he said.

"I'm not saying I'm for it or against it, but I know it changes the parameters of the decisions, so I think it needs to be made soon."

Mr Maharey said he was not a subscriber to Sky at home in Palmerston North but had the service in Wellington.

(Craigs comment, His contact details below now might be a good chance to encourage an open platform mux with all terrestrial radio and TV channels being FTA. Let me know how you get on !)

Email: smaharey@ministers.govt.nz

Phone: 04 470 6552
Fax: 04 495 8443

Global Satellite Firms Vying for Koreasat-5

From http://www.korealink.co.kr/kt_tech/200208/t2002081917560245110.htm

At least three global aeronautics giants are considering competing in bids for the nation’s next satellite project, Koreasat-5, industry sources said yesterday.

Telecommunications giant KT has already signed a memorandum of understanding to launch a new satellite for military purposes with defense authorities last year.

The exact cost of the project has not been revealed, but the estimated price of satellite bidding was some 300 billion won, the source said.

The Koreasat-5 will be launched before 2005 to replace Koreasat-2 that will be nearing the end of its lifespan by that time.

For the contract, the U.S. defense contractors Lockheed Martin and Boeing are each planning to bid for Koreasat-5, citing their success in launching the first three Koreasat satellites.

The European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS), a European aeronautics and defense giant, is also preparing for the bid in a move to tap Korean aerospace market.

KT will send request proposal from possible bidders in the middle of September and plans to name a prime negotiator by the end of this year, the official said.

``We will invite bids for the manufacture and launching of the satellite by the end of the year, and we hope the satellite will be launched in 2005,’’ the official said.

The prime negotiator will be selected after a review of prices and the degree of aerospace technology transfer for satellite manufacturing are considered, he added.

South Korea currently has three satellites, all used for non-military purposes such as communications, weather observation or scientific research.

The new communications satellite Koreasat-5 will be shared equally by private users and military authorities, the official said.

T S I C H A N N E L N E W S - Number 34/2002 25 August 2002 -

A weekly roundup of global TV news sponsored by TELE-satellite International
Editor: Branislav Pekic

Edited Apsattv.com Edition

U.S

BT BROADCAST SERVICES BRING US OPEN TO EUROPE AND AUSTRALIA

For the broadcast of this year's American Grand Slam event - the US Open
2002 - to Europe and Australia, broadcast right holders Eurosport and
Network 9 Australia respectively turned to BT Broadcast Services (BT) for
complete, all-digital solutions. BT's solution starts at The Arthur Ashe
Stadium in Flushing Meadows, transmitting to multiple destinations in
Europe using BT's Ku-band "Special Events Mux", uplinking 5 simultaneous
channels of 36 MHz to the brand new NSS 7 satellite. The same flyaway will
also transmit a SCPC (Single Channel Per Carrier) signal to NSS 7 for
unilateral contribution feeds for stand-up shots and various ad hoc feeds.
BT's C-band flyaway will uplink 18 Mhz of capacity to AMC4 to be used as a
domestic backhaul path to BT's Media Center in Los Angeles and uplinked to
Network 9's full time service also provided by BT on I701 180(Degree) for a
downlink in Australia. Lastly, a 270 Mbit local fibre loop from the venue
to BT's New York switch at 60 Hudson Street is used as a fibre backup to
the satellite feed to Australia.

A S I A

AUSTRALIA

NO GROWTH IN PAY-TV FIGURES

Pay-TV gained only 5,000 new subscribers in Australia in the June 2002
quarter, according to News Limited. The News Corporation subsidiary is a 25
per cent stakeholder in Australia's largest pay television entity, Foxtel.
Stockbroker Credit Suisse First Boston has revealed that there has been no
growth in pay-TV subscriber numbers in the period since Foxtel and Singtel
Optus announced a proposal to share programming. This proposal is before
the Australian competition regulator. Foxtel's cable system must be
upgraded to digital, News Limited has also revealed.

FOXTEL TO UPGRADE PAY-TV SERVICE

Foxtel, Australia's largest pay-TV company, may spend between A$250 million
and A$350 million to upgrade its network to sell interactive services, the
Australian Financial Review reported on August 20. Foxtel was keen to push
ahead with an upgrade of its network within three years, the newspaper
said, citing Peter Macourt, chief operating officer of News Ltd., News
Corp.'s Australian unit, which manages Foxtel and owns 25 per cent of it.
In June, the nation's antitrust regulator rejected Foxtel's proposed
alliance with a unit of SingTel Optus, Australia's No.3 pay-TV company,
saying it would substantially lessen competition. Under the rejected
agreement, Foxtel would have assumed SingTel Optus's liability to movie
studios, while Foxtel had agreed to use a SingTel satellite to help
distribute its service. Optus is a unit of Singapore Telecommunications.
Telstra Corp., the nation's largest phone company, owns half of Foxtel.
Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd. owns the remaining quarter.

SEVEN NETWORK DENIES CAPITAL MANAGEMENT CHANGES

Australia's Seven Network Ltd. said on August 20 it doesn't plan to make
any capital management changes. On August 20, the Australian Financial
Review reported that the company is preparing to raise up to A$200 million
via a hybrid equity issue to strengthen its balance sheet. "The company is
aware of speculation in relation to the various capital management
opportunities which may be available, however we advise that the board has
not approved any restructure of the company's capital," Seven Network said.
"If, and when, any proposal is approved, the company will advise the market
immediately, in accordance with the requirements of the listing rules," it
said.

TEN CHARGED IN PIRACY BUST

Ten Canberra men and women are facing dishonesty charges after a police
crackdown against the illegal use of pay-TV. Police seized a number of
smart cards and computer equipment from the homes during the raid. It was
part of an investigation launched after police received information in May
that a network of ACT satellite television users were gaining illegal
access to programs. The Australian Subscription Television and Radio
Association praised the police operation last night. Executive director
Debra Richards said it was important that people were aware that pay-TV
piracy was a crime. She said piracy cost the pay-TV industry millions of
dollars in lost revenue each year.

CHINA - HONG KONG

ASIA TV GETS GOVERNMENT APPROVAL TO BROADCAST

Asia Television, a broadcaster in which billionaire Li Ka-shing plans to
buy a one-third stake, has won China's approval to beam programs into the
country's southern province of Guangdong. Gaining entry to China's richest
province, with an audience 10 times Hong Kong's 6.8 million, would pit the
broadcaster against Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings, 38 per cent
owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., which is the only other foreign
company currently airing programs in China. It may also bolster Asia
Television in its rivalry with Television Broadcasts, the bigger of Hong
Kong's two free-to- air stations. Asia Television's Home and ATV World
channels will be carried by the Guangdong Cable TV network. Gaining rights
to beam programs into Guangdong will boost Asia Television's revenue and
valuation. Meanwhile, Tom.com said on August 19 that it had scrapped a
proposed deal to acquire a 32.75% stake in ATV. The media company said it
had not been able to conduct a meaningful financial assessment of the
network's value and had terminated a preliminary agreement signed July 9.

I-CABLE LAUNCHES FOUR CHANNELS

I-Cable Communications Ltd. said on August 19 it will launch four new
channels to attract viewers from Hong Kong's minority ethnic groups. The
launch follows a newspaper report that Pacific Digital Media (Hong Kong), a
new entrant to the local pay-TV market, will launch eight new channels and
introduce a low-fee plan to lure subscribers from dominant i-Cable. i-Cable
said it was launching Japanese NHK World Premium, Korean Arirang TV, French
TV5 and German Deutsche Well-TV "to expand Cable TV's service to ethnic
groups residing in Hong Kong." In a related development, i-Cable has
performed at the top end of analyst's expectations in the first half of
2002, taking subscribers to 600,000 for the first time. The company
attributed a 9% increase in pay-TV revenues to HK$877 million and added
40,000 new subscribers thanks to World Cup football and anti piracy
initiatives. Churn has been cut to 18%. Overall revenue was HK$1.1 billion,
a 20% increase year on year.

GALAXY RESUMES TALKS WITH MEASAT

Television Broadcasts' pay-TV arm Galaxy is valued around US$120 million,
said Ronald Jones, senior manager of TVB's business development department,
on August 20. Jones said in an interview that the company is in talks with
three or four groups of investors regarding the sale of a stake in its
pay-TV operations. TVB said it has resumed talks with Measat Broadcast
Network Systems, a Malaysian broadcaster that pulled out of a planned
investment in Galaxy in 2001.

BROADCASTING SECTOR SET TO GROW

China's TV broadcasting market will become another major growth engine,
following in the footsteps of the telecom sector, industry experts said at
a forum held on August 22. At the forum, held ahead of the Beijing
International Radio, TV and Film Equipment Exhibition, attendees were shown
a market that is rich in potential but slightly tapped. Today's TV programs
are far from satisfying demand, and the gap means big business
opportunities, said Zhang Haitao, vice-director-general of the State
Administration of Film, Radio and Television (SAFRT), the regulator of the
broadcasting industry. Chinese people can now access 1,047 different TV
channels for information and entertainment, Zhang said. On average, most
families receive over 40 different TV channels at home. But these channels
are more or less the same as they all target the mass market. Most of the
channels are similar to each other in progam arrangement and content. The
shortage of distinguishing characteristics drive many people away from
their TV sets, Zhang said. To cater to diversified tastes, more programs
that focus on specific fields should be produced, he said. A good example
is the popularity of programs from The Discovery Channel of the United
States, which shows scientific documentaries. Personalised TV programs,
like video-on-demand and interactive TV that allow people to decide what to
watch, have also received a warm market response in trial operations in
some cities, Zhang said. China's TV penetration rate is 94 per cent with
100 million cable-TV subscribers. This represents a viewing population of
over 300 million, making China the world's biggest cable-TV market,
according to statistics from SAFRT.

INDIA

SITICABLE TO LAUNCH INTERACTIVE CHANNEL

Zee Telefilms' cable arm SitiCable is planning to launch a 24-hour
interactive entertainment channel aimed at family audiences, The Asian Age
has reported. Siti has already sought clearance from the information and
broadcasting ministry for the project. The channel, which will be free to
air and city specific, has broadly been modelled on the lines of the
popular NY1 in New York, which is Time Warner Cable's exclusive local news
channel having live 1-minute news updates every half hour and special shows
focussing on local business, politics etc. SitiCable will leverage on its
strength of having its own teleport in Noida thus enabling it to do live
interactive programming like FM radio through satellite uplinking. The
programming will consist of live entertainment shows and events,
infotainment shows, music on demand, popular serials from Zee library, also
interactive film entertainment which the channel claims is a new concept.

CARTOON NETWORK ON ZEE

National broadcaster Zee has dropped kid's channel Nickelodeon India's
block and replaced it with Turner's Cartoon Network. Nickelodeon will
switch its focus to its own channel while Cartoon Network will air for an
hour in the morning on Zee and then in the evening through the week.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

NEW INDIAN TV CHANNEL TO LAUNCH

A 24-hour free to air digital satellite channel Middle East Television
(MET) is all set to start broadcasting from November 1. It will be the
Indian satellite channel to be launched from Dubai Media City. Although it
will focus on a substantial viewership of expatriate Malayalees, it will
also feature regular slots for Hindi and other South Indian languages. It
will also cater to the International Indians globally with local programmes
produced mainly in the UAE. MET will telecast via the Panamsat PAS-10
satellite at 68.5 East. MET will use the latest server-based transmission
technology and will be uplinked from DMC's state-of-the-art Teleport
facilities, said Sudhir Kumar, Executive Director, MET. He added that "the
new channel will have geographical reach to homes across the world
including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Iran Iraq, the
Indian subcontinent, Europe, far East Asia, Australia and Africa." The
channel, with an initial investment of $20 million, is expected to provide
stiff competition to other Malayalam channels like Surya and Asianet,
Thomas said.

25/08/02

No update on Sunday

24/08/02

First a correction! the Pace DSR 2000 mentioned yesterday is NOT the one Sky are considering selling at Dick Smiths. They are installing these boxes though. I don't have the pictures yet. Is there any Sky installer out there that has more info? No names need to be mentioned.

Not much to report today things quiet.

From my Emails & ICQ

From George (Thailand)

Globecast mux is on I704 66E 3805 RHC Sr 22900 Fec 3/4, Encrypted, Service 3 has FTA txt, Service 4 has Sky news audio FTA)

From Zapara (W.A)

Int 704 66 deg E. 3805 R

Weak

All Encrypted NDS
Sky News
Service 1 ViID 512 PCR 3326 SID 1 PMT 256
Service 2 VID 513 AUD 589 SID 2 PMT 257
Service 3 VID 514 AUD 644 TEXT 578 SID 3 PMT 258
Service 3 VID 515 AUD 646 PCR 5118 SID 4 PMT 259

The Teletext on Service 3 shows the timing between segments and breaks etc.

From Chris Pickstock

4pm Syd 24/08/02

12420 V, sr 6110 Channel V music bus
12430 V, sr 6980 NRL, Fox feed

Chris

From ME 2pm Syd

B1, 12410V Sr 6110 Fec 3/4 "Afl feed"

From the Dish

PAS 8 166E 3860 H "Z Channel" is Fta again.

Asiasat 3 105.5E 3840H "Channel v" analog has it left ?

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3695 H "Sky Racing 1"is now Fta.

I704 66E 3805 RHC "Globecast FT mux is still here, with Sky news and 3 other services all NDS encrypted except Sky news audio" (also confirmed by Zapara .W.A)

NEWS

ISRO to launch METSAT soon

From http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/02232010.htm

India's first meteorology satellite Metsat, would be launched within a month on-board a modified Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman Dr K Kasturirangan said today.

The $ 16 million Metsat which will carry very high resolution radiometer (VHRR) and data relay transponder (DRT), to specifically provide meteorological data, will be launched on-board a PSLV modified to undertake geo-stationary satellite launch vehicle (GSLV) mission, he told reporters here.

Metsat is a geo-stationary orbit satellite (stationary in relation to the rotation of the earth) which actually needs to be launched by the GSLV rocket.

However, India's GSLV programme is still in the trial stages and therefore, the PSLV would be modified to launch the satellite, Kasturirangan said.

The new satellite will replace the capabilities of INSAT-2E whose VHRR failed in 1999 and INSAT-2B which ran out of station-keeping propellant on November 4, 2000, he said.

First International Cricket Tournament in Stadium Made For Television

From http://allafrica.com/stories/200208230287.html

Cricket in Morocco might seem as feasible as the Tour de France in the Sahara Desert, but it makes sense for one top Arab multi-millionaire.

It was Abdul Rahman Bukhatir who, back in 1981, envisaged turning Sharjah, an outpost in Arabia, into another Mecca for world cricket, after falling for the game when at school in Pakistan. His cricket stadium in the United Arab Emirates was then just a concrete block and a couple of tents, with the grass playing area leased from the local football club, but he had faith.

Today it is resplendent with multi-tiered stands, floodlights and the ring of confidence that comes with hosting 191 one-day internationals, more than all the grounds in England combined. Sharjah has even hosted two Tests, when last January it stepped in to offer a safe haven for Pakistan to play the West Indies.

Arrangements are now being made for the series recently cancelled between Pakistan and Australia to take place in Sharjah.

The question is, can Bukhatir repeat that success in Tangiers? All the signs suggest the answer is yes.

His latest venture already has a state-of-the-art stadium, called "world-class" by Malcolm Speed, the Australian CEO of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Speed was there on the opening day of the Morocco Cup, a triangular affair involving Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa, along with excited groups of local children who have already been coached well in chanting "Pakistan Zindabad", even if leg breaks are beyond them.

Any serious Moroccan XI is a long way off, and its principal purpose would be to attract development funding rather than to pose a challenge to the game's established powers.

Wealthy as he is, Bukhatir would rather he did not have to underwrite Tangiers by himself. He is angling for financial support from the ICC to pay for things such as an electronic scoreboard, a media centre and further seating. This can only be given to countries that achieve ICC Associate status, which is a way off for Morocco.

So Bukhatir has hired the Indian legend Mohinder Amarnath on a three-year contract to be the Moroccan Cricket Federation coach. Once the team reach Associate level, they will attract development capital from the ICC. Even so, Bukhatir is investing £14-million in the Tangiers complex across the next five years, for non-cricketing facilities such as an 18-hole golf course, villas, and a luxury hotel.

Tangiers is ideal for cricket fans based in Europe and Africa, as the 200 or so self-funded spectators from England, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Pakistan and even Belgium confirm. One local travel agent received requests for 120 visas from Pakistan alone.

Sharjah pulls in thousands when a team from the Indian subcontinent plays even a qualifying game. But gate receipts are not the reason he is looking to expand.

Sharjah did not turn a profit until the mid-1990s, when rights to televised cricket were finally given their true worth by the late Mark Mascarenhas of WorldTel, who would also become Sachin Tendulkar's agent. His successful £8,5-million bid for the 1996 World Cup started a new era.

Bukhatir has formed his own television production company, TenSports, and owns the cable and satellite channel Taj TV, which has a Middle East and Asian footprint. Its most recent coup was securing the Asian rights to football's World Cup.

"Vertical integration was the logical step," he says with a Cheshire cat smile. It is certainly in the game plan to invite teams to play in his stadiums, to be filmed by his cameras, to be shown on his station.

It all leaves him perfectly placed to exploit cricket, especially if he can arrange the clash that hundreds of millions wish to see.

The Indian government forbids the national team from playing Pakistan as a result of the border tension in Kashmir. Officials on both sides, though, are confident the teams will meet again soon -- on a neutral ground. The television rights to these matches have stratospheric value. A five-match one-day series, should it ever come off, would be worth more than that £8,5-million that Mascarenhas paid for the whole 1996 World Cup, according to industry insiders.

Bukhatir is on good terms with Jagmohan Dalmiya, the head of the Indian board of control and an increasingly important power broker in the game. When India and Pakistan were unable to play each other in their own countries, between 1989 and 1996, Bukhatir's Sharjah venue acted as effectively a second home for them.

So while this year's Morocco Cup had a price tag of $2,5-million, and made a loss, Bukhatir hopes that it will serve as an advert for the new stadium.

Attracting India to play is crucial even if the opposition is not Pakistan, as it is home of the largest and most lucrative TV market for cricket. England and Australia would be welcome, too, because they have great worldwide appeal -- everyone likes to see them lose.

Tangiers may end up being Bukhatir's biggest gift to the cricket world, for it is a venue that can host games for nine months of the year. It is immune to the heat and humidity of the Indian subcontinent, southern-hemisphere winds and rain, and the English "summer". Tangiers is "a very good option for world cricket", the ICC's Speed confirms.

The expansion will not stop there. David Richardson, the former South African wicketkeeper and now ICC commercial manager, says that Abu Dhabi "is just around the corner from becoming an international venue".

Tangiers is in a similar time zone to Britain, but also offers live cricket in prime time for India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. All those eyeballs, all those channels, all that empty space waiting for a sponsor's logo.

It will be television viewers around the world, above all in India, who will determine if Bukhatir has built a white elephant or a gold mine.

23/08/02

Bad news? someone who just had a new Sky install done said they have a new Pace box its a DSR 2000 it has 2 rf ports and SVHS at the back. The box is faster than the ones previously used. The bad news part my contact says these are the ones Sky plans to sell in Dick Smiths. Treat that as rumour at the moment but it makes it all rather clear why 3,4,Prime and trackside have all remained encrypted dosn't it. My prediction is Sky will flog these near Christmas at $500 a pop with a fta viewing card that lets you watch 1,2,3,4,Prime and Trackside and maybe Sky1 as well. Advice to dealers don't order in any new stock of FTA receivers until we have better details of Skys plans. Maybe they will wait until Skys box is in the shops then make 3,4,Prime , Trackside fta??? Oh well a nice dream.

I hope to put up some digital camera pics of the unit soon

A link to the possible specs of the box

http://www.pace.co.uk/paceproducts/popup.asp?section=SA&sectioncode=SPEC&box=21

A number of satellite pages were updated last night thanks to George for helping with that.

From my Emails & ICQ

From Ilyas Ahmed

Hi Craig

Unfortunately TV Maldives does not have a web site yet. They do not publish a printed programme guide but the following day’s schedule is shown every day before the close of transmission. Because the weekly sheduled is fixed and does not change much, people would remember when each programme will be shown.

Below is a small write-up on their setup and programming. Feel free to write, if you need any more information.
TV Maldives is not a 24 hour station yet. Currently it broadcasts for about 12 hours a day at the following times:

Morning
0090 ­ 1200

Afternoon
1400 ­ 1530

Evening
1700 - 0000

News is broadcasted at the following times:

1000 News in Dhivehi (Maldivian Language)
1400 News in Dhivehi
1900 CNN News
2000 News in Dhivehi
2100 News in English
2300 CNN News

The above times are local and Maldives is 5 hours ahead of GMT.

TV Maldives is state owned and operates two channels. The standard channel TVM is on VHF channel 5 terrestrially, and on Thaicom 3411V (as your are aware). The second channel TVM Plus is a pay channel in terrestrial channel 7 (analogue).

Regards
Ilyas

(Craigs comment this channel is on Thaicom 3 and can be received in many parts of Australia)

From the Dish

PAS 8 166E 3860 H "TTV, CTV, CTS, FTV and Z Channel" are now encrypted. (Viaccess?? anyone know?)

JCSAT 2A 154E 3915 V "BYU TV" is back on , Fta, Sr 3424, Fec 3/4, PIDs 4121/33.

Asiasat 3 105.5E 3760 H "Indus Music" has started Fta, PIDs 1030/1031.

Asiasat 2 100.5E 3660 VAn Al-Alam News Channel promo has started on , clear, SID 7,PIDs 513/651.

PAS 10 68.5E 4114 H "Geo Pakistan" has started testing, Fta, SR 3300, Fec 2/3,PIDs 33/36.(Mentioned yesterday anyone take a look ? supposed to be a 24 hour Urdu news and current affairs channel)

NEWS

An old item but it mentions GEO-TV starting in August, its on PAS10

UGA PROFESSOR DEVELOPS FIRST 24-HOUR ALL-NEWS NETWORK IN PAKISTAN, FIRST HINDI-LANGUAGE NETWORK IN INDIA

ATHENS, Ga. After a successful launch of the first all-news Hindi-language channel in India, University of Georgia professor David Hazinski has recently completed negotiations to manage the launch of a new Urdu-language news and current affairs channel for Pakistan. Called GEO-TV and based in Karachi, with bureaus in Islamabad and Lahore to start, Hazinski’s team will build studios and a satellite uplink in Dubai. The channel will launch in August 2002.

"We like to find ways that somebody else hasn’t thought about to get more efficiency," said Hazinski, a professor of telecommunications at UGA’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. "It’s kind of a competitive sense. I don’t want to just beat the tar out of them; I want to beat the tar out of them for 20 percent of the amount they’re paying."

Aaj Tak, the Hindi-language network in India, was launched in January 2001 and now has a 60 percent share of the news audience in India. Aaj Tak means "up until now" or "right now." In December, Aaj Tak was named best news channel at the first Indian Television Academy Awards.

To create Aaj Tak, Hazinski gathered an international group of consultants. The newsroom system was Czech, the graphic designer was Spanish, the graphics system was Norwegian, the editing system was Swiss and Americans and Brits put it all together. Cobbling the pieces together was a challenge but cheaper than going with one company’s system and being locked into buying expensive upgrades. Hazinski basically built a custom system, creating the bridges (software, for example) that brought all the elements together.

The owners of Aaj Tak have more freedom in maintaining and upgrading their system, but also more responsibility since each upgrade will require an investment of time and research as well as money. But they’ll control their fate as a business — they can directly influence how efficiently they operate, which affects the station’s ability to generate a profit.

Mabuhay Satellite eyes new markets to tide difficulties

From http://itmatters.com.ph/news/news_08232002a.html

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT)-owned Mabuhay Philippines Satellite Corporation (MPSC) plans to beef up its satellite-based value-added services in a bid to boost revenues amid continuing economic difficulties and increasing competition.

MPSC is the owner and operator of Philippine satellite Agila II located at 146 East Longitude and which covers Asia and the United States.

In a press conference yesterday, MPSC president and chief executive officer Gabriel Z. Pimentel said the company is working with its customers to enable them to serve their own clients with two-way satellite-based Internet service.

The company is also in talks with sister company Infocom Technologies for the development of a hybrid Internet package that would allow customers to access the Internet downstream via satellite, and upstream via regular dial-up connection. It is also pursuing a similar arrangement with CBCPWorld.

Aside from these arrangements, MPSC is also tapping international news agencies by providing them with teleport and satellite bandwidth packages in hotspots around Asia to allow their field reporters to feed breaking news to their respective bureaus.

"Our goal is to be more than a platform for the wholesale of transmission bandwidth, but to enhance revenues through the development of satellite-based value-added services," Mr. Pimentel explained.

MPSC offers bandwidth and integration services for high-speed Internet access throughout Asia (backbone and distribution) using Agila II and strategic partnerships with teleports in Hawaii, USA who have direct access to Tier 1 providers.

INCREASING PRESSURE

Mr. Pimentel said the global weakening of the telecom sector as well as the increased competition not only from other satellite operators but als