30/06/02
No update Sunday
29/06/02
Another very quiet day not much news.
From my Emails & ICQ
From Zapara
I704 66E 4055 "wimbledon feed" in the French mux
From Me
Saturday Afternoon
B1, 12428 V Sr 6110 Fec 3/4 "V8' Super Cars "
From Bill Richards
Screenshot of Bali TV off Palapa C2
From the Dish
No sign of Lyngsat
NEWS
Uproar over dish spree
From http://www.mytown.co.nz
Home owners are furious council kept them in the dark about a further six 15m satellite dishes planned for their back yard.
The Albany residents were stunned this week as Shore News revealed Stratos New Zealand has consent to house up to nine satellite dishes at its Unity Drive site.
One of the dishes will rest just 30m from the nearest house and council’s decision to keep neighbours in the dark has rubbed salt in the wound.
?It makes me sick,” exclaims Manumanu Rogers. “It’s frightening they can do it without telling us.”
Mr Rogers says the dishes are “unbelievably ugly” and is not convinced they are completely safe – the secrecy makes him even more suspicious: “If there’s nothing wrong with them why didn’t they just tell us.”
He was astounded that US military holed up in Afghanistan are among Stratos’ military customers: “It makes us a prime target doesn’t it. They should be out in the middle of a paddock somewhere.”
Two doors down the three existing dishes loom large in Shirley Pittman’s dining room and lounge windows. She was “petrified” the day she came home to find the first of the antennae aimed at her home and was visibly shaken when she learned more were planned.
?They just can’t. I don’t know what I’ll do but the people round here will fight them tooth and nail.”
But council’s regulatory and hearings committee decided residents wouldn’t be “adversely affected” by the $30m-$40m project and it wasn’t worth telling them.
Council’s report echoed that of Stratos stating that the visual effects would be “minor” – but no one has been up to check out the view from nearby homes.
Martin Gledhill of the Ministry of Health’s National Radiation Laboratory, says if homes were in the path of the satellite beams it would be wise to record frequencies from those properties.
However, he doubts the houses would be directly in the satellite’s path because they would interfere with the signal.
Acting chair of the regulatory and hearings committee, Gary Holmes, used his casting vote to override the concerns of councillors Margaret Miles and Mike Tafua.
The District Plan deems the antennas a “controlled” activity, so even council is powerless to block them.
But Mrs Miles maintained residents had a right to know: “[Residents] should at least be given the chance to have their say and to see whether or not [Stratos] would be prepared to alter their plans after hearing them.”
Spokesman for Stratos New Zealand, Eric Jones, isn’t sure when construction will start, and says they may not need to install all six dishes and instead opt for only one or two.
French films on DD
From http://www.screenindia.com/20020628/tvnews3.html
From July 5, Doordarshan will telecast a number of French films on its network. All these films are either dubbed or subtitled in English. According to sources, Doordarshan has agreed to telecast as many as 26 French feature and television films on the DD Metro channel.
To start with, a total of six feature films will be telecast on DD Metro every Friday at 11 pm. These films are :
An Indian in the City by Herve Palud (July 5); Fanfan the Tulip by Christian Jaque (July 12); Witch Way Love by Rene Manzor (July 19); The Hickers by Philippe Harel (July 26); The Black Tulip by Christian Jaque (August 7) and Damned Nuisance by Edouard Molinaro (August 14).
The above mentioned films have been censored by CBFC but the remaining 20 films are yet to get Censor clearance. Doordarshan has proposed to have a self cut in order to help CBFC save time and energy. The process of Censor has already started.
These 26 feature and TV films are supplied by Canal France International (CFI) to Doordarshan free of cost.
?This is a test period. Both DD and the French company will discuss the overall performance and viewership of these films after the telecast of these films. Then both parties will discuss the issue of supply of French films on commercial basis,” said one DD official.
These films are being sent by Canal France International, to DD via satellite feed.It may be mentioned here that TVFI (Television France International, a body of French Television Companies) had been trying to have an agreement with DD on programme sharing for the last three years.
In 1999, a delegation at TVFI visited New Delhi and met RR Shah, then CEO of Prasar Bharati. At the meeting, the idea of having French films on DD was discussed and Shah had approved the project in principle.
ESS gets the biggest cricket name of them all in Sachin as brand ambassador
From indiantelevision.com
It's hotting up out there in the sports broadcasting arena. The latest card has been thrown by ESPN Star Sports (ESS) which today announced the signing of Indian cricketing icon Sachin Tendulkar onto his first ever exclusive TV channel contract.
ESPN Software India managing director Manu Sawhney with Sachin Tendulkar at the signing ceremony in London announcing the batting maestro's exclusive TV channel contract with ESPN Star Sports.
Under the three-year contract signed between WorldTel and ESPN Star Sports, Sachin will actively promote ESPN and Star Sports and join the channels on air in exclusive programming that will treat Indian cricket fans to Sachin in a new role on TV.
Manu Sawhney, managing director of ESPN Software India Pvt. Ltd. said: "It is our constant endeavor to innovate, create and bring compelling sports content from around the world for the millions of our loyal viewers. I’m sure our long-term association with Sachin will immensely enhance the value we bring to our viewers and business partners."
Queried as to the terms of the deal, Sawhney, speaking to indiantelevision.com over the phone from London, said it was a three-year contract that had a renewable clause built in and ESS expected that this was just the beginning of a long association.
Sawhney would not comment on the payout to Sachin which industry sources have put at Rs 50 million a year, but stressed the deal was not just about endorsements. According to Sawhney, "Sachin will be partnering us in excellence as far as cricketing programming is concerned."
Programming would be created with Sachin and around him, Sawhney said, adding it was an integrated and interactive approach that would include on-air, online, on ground and in print activity.
Asked how long the programme rollout would take, Sawhney said the shows were still under conceptualisation but would be on air before the end of the year.
The timing though, is what has has led to questions being asked as to whether the sports channel's choice of India's greatest cricketer ever as brand ambassador is a panic reaction to competition in the form of Ten Sports and SET Max which have got sports properties such as the World Cup Football, cricket tournaments in Morocco and ICC World Cup. Sawhney clarified that talks had been on with Sachin for the last six months and stressed it was not a knee jerk reaction to Sony's recent signing of Kapil Dev as its brand ambassador.
When asked wasn't there a BCCI stipulation that disallows contracted players from participating in any sort of promotional activities while matches are on, Sawhney said: "We will make sure that we do not break any rules and will abide by all ICC guidelines."
There's no denying that ESPN-Star Sports' has been losing its edge in programming with little high-profile sports properties to talk about. And it could possibly try to fill in the gaps by creative innovative funky programming featuring Sachin. A coaching show, exclusive down memory lane series on the genius who has been compared to Bradman, talk shows, ground events, and what have you are just some of the possibilities that arise.
For programming to succeed with Sachin as the host however, ESPN Star Sports will have to groom him no end, especially in voice modulation, something which he is sorely lacking. There's no doubt that Tendulkar is one of the better dressers and lookers in India, but some of the sheen is lost when he speaks.
There is some irony in that Tendulkar as ESS brand ambassador will be battling himself on the field as far as viewership is concerned when he is playing World Cup matches which will be viewed on SET MAX.
So there it is. Sony Entertainment has Kapil Dev, the man who brought home the World Cup way back in 1983 squaring up against today's hero. Two greats, but who will prove the greater in the viewership stakes? No contest? The audience will have to decide.
28/06/02
"The Wolf" radio seems to have gone from Sky TV, their site seems to be gone also, so it looks like George Fm has replaced it. Another quiet day keep looking around somewhere up there at the moment there should feeds for Wimbledon, The Natwest Trophy Cricket 3 team series from England, also from 2 a.m NZ time Live NZ vs West Indies Cricket. So keep looking around you never know what might show up and if all else fails try and get your wife/girlfriend to have a satellite mammogram ;-)
From my Emails & ICQ
From Victor Holubecki
The Quick channel on Palapa C2 has been replaced with TV5.
4080 H 28125 3/4
(Craigs comment, I presume its the French TV5 I guess its being used as a test signal like most other services there)
From Hans Versluys
Dear Craig,
As it happens, we have recently installed a 2.5m dish (through Pacific Antennas, Whangaparaoa, 025 789 160) pointing at Intelsat701 for the reception of WorldNet. The signal is very strong (10dB) here in Auckland, much more stable than WorldNet from AsiaSat2. WorldNet has 4 'virtual channels' on Intelsat, each with a different mix of programmes, plus a long list of radio channels.
The contact person at WorldNet for technical matters is Wayne Olson, BBG Telecommunications Maintenance Manager (wolson@ibb.gov). He wrote to me regarding dish size and specifics:
<<Our satellite design on Intelsat 701 was conservatively designed for 4.5M antennas. It may be possible to use a smaller satellite antenna but we have not made reliable field measurements yet to verify that possibility. I know that's not what you wanted to hear but a higher power transponder was not available to us.>>
According to my system settings (I'm no specialist in satellite reception so don't ask me for specifics!) it's on 0.3886 Ghz Horizontal, 25000 KS/s.
The channel settings listed on my DigiPro decoder:
#1: video 3160, audio 3120
#2: video 3260, audio 3220
#3: video 3360, audio 3320
#4: video 3460, audio 3420
We re-broadcast channel 3, which has the programme schedule for IOR (on http://www.ibb.gov/tvschedule) It differs slightly from the AsiaSat2 WorldNet schedule.
Kind regards,
Hans Versluys
Director of Programming, Triangle Television
hans@tritv.co.nz
http://www.tritv.co.nz
PO Box 78-034, Grey Lynn, Auckland, New Zealand
+64 9 376 5030
From the Dish
PAS 2 169E 12297 H "National Open University" has started , Fta, Sr 3333, Fec 3/4, PIDs 33/34.
Optus B3 156E 12313 H "Austar Interactive TV" has started .
Measat 2 148E 11602 H "Hot Channel and Tzu Chi TV" have started on , Viaccess, PIDs 464/465 and 496/497. Afa TV has left this mux.
Apstar 1A 134E Lady TV has moved from 3884 V to 4070 V, Fta, Sr 5200, Fec 3/4, PIDs 32/33.
Yamal 102 90E 3489 L "TeleShkola" has starte, Fta, Sr 28000, Fec 3/4, PIDs 111/112.
NEWS
Voyeur gets women to bare breasts for satellite
From http://www.telegraph.co.uk
Four women have contacted police after being persuaded to stand topless in their windows or balconies so that a satellite could give them a mammogram.
The women, aged between 19 and 45, living in the Algarve, southern Portugal, were all contacted by telephone by a woman claiming to be a doctor.
She told them that a revolutionary method had been developed of conducting breast examinations by satellite.
They were told that the consultation would be free if they followed instructions by stripping to the waist and standing in view of the satellite.
One woman was so trusting that she took off all her clothes for the "examination".
Later, the women were telephoned with the alleged results of the examinations. The woman claiming to be a doctor then told them of her sexual desires in graphic detail.
(Craigs comment, any female apsattv readers are asked to contact my private email to arrange local mammogram by satellite tests when Optus C1 launches)
Banned Falun Gong Interrupts TV Programming in China
From http://www.voanews.com/
In China, members of the banned Falun Gong meditation sect have again hijacked TV satellites to interrupt programming. The first incident happened Sunday night. Instead of regular state television programming, Chinese viewers in parts of Shandong Province saw pro-Falun Gong messages flashing on their screens.
Then on Tuesday, residents of Yantai city, in Shandong, tuned in to find the message "Falun Gong is good" on their television sets for several seconds.
Frank Lu in Hong Kong is the director the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy. He said mainland authorities have launched a massive investigation into what happened.
Mr. Lu said police in many provinces have been ordered to hunt down those who disrupted the television programs. He added the operation shows a good deal of sophistication since the Falun Gong would have needed an antenna more than three meters tall to interrupt the regular satellite television feed.
The Falun Gong said its members have resorted to taking over the airwaves briefly because they have no other means to express or share their beliefs in China. Sophie Xiao is a spokeswoman for the group in Hong Kong.
"These people didn't do anything wrong. They just believe in truthfulness, compassion and forbearance, and they practice spiritual beliefs," Ms. Xiao said. "They did nothing wrong to the government or the people. How come China can't tolerate this?"
She said Falun Gong activists in China are likely to stage similar protests as long as the government maintains its ban on the group.
The Falun Gong has disrupted television programs in at least four other Chinese cities this year. The other protests occurred in Harbin, Changchun and Anshan in the northeast and Chongqing in the southwest.
Last month, a Chinese court in Chongqing sentenced four members of the group to prison terms of up to 16 years. The court charged the Falun Gong followers with what it called using an evil cult to obstruct enforcement of the law, and sabotaging television broadcasts.
China banned the Falun Gong in 1999 as a public menace and threat to the government. The move came after thousands of Falun Gong followers staged a public demonstration outside of government offices in Beijing.
The ruling Communist Party has been taken by surprise by the size and organization of the group. The government alleges the Falun Gong urged followers to forgo needed medical treatments and uses brainwashing techniques.
In the three years the group has been banned, China has arrested thousands of members for re-education. Human rights groups charges scores of those detained have died in custody or mistreated.
Sony, Discovery India form channel distribution joint venture
From http://167.216.192.97/moneymatters/mmnewsstoryht.jsp?newsid=14842
Sony Entertainment Television India Ltd and Discovery Communications India said on Thursday they had formed a joint venture to distribute their channels in India.
Sony Entertainment said it would hold a 74 per cent stake in the new venture, SET Discovery Pvt Ltd, while the remaining 26 per cent would be with Discovery India.
Sony Entertainment's distribution business head Shantonu Aditya said the addition of Discovery left the company poised to become the top television network in the country.
The channels will include Sony, Sony Max, AXN, Discovery, CNBC and Animal Planet.
Sony Entertainment provides Hindi entertainment programmes, reaching over 29 million households, it said.
Discovery Communications' Discovery Channel was launched in 1995 and reaches over 21 million households.
27/06/02
Not much news today to report, it gets a bit like that towards the end of the week.
From my Emails & ICQ
From Gregor Bregar
Subject: I701
Craig,
can you let someone check for channel lineup on the following and let me know?
INTELSAT 701
Longitude: 180 degrees east
Freq: 3886 MHz
FEC: 3/4
Symbol Rate: 25.0 MS/s
Typ. L-band Freq: 1264 MHz
D/L Pol: RHC
Network ID: 6
Video : PAL/NTSC
Worldnet is supposed to be there, but I need exact lineup.
Best regards,
G. Bregar, SD
(Craigs comment, it's been there for several months now but I guess nobody out there has been prepared to sit down and list all the info. I actually supplied the Freq info etc to Lyngsat but he would not list it as I didn't have all the details of what was in the transponder, not sure how he expects to get all the details filled in if no-one knows to look there to check it out. Not that many are able to access I701 Cband anyway)
From the Dish
Optus B1 160E 12608 V "George FM" has started, Radio FTA , SID 1104, Apid 663.
Optus B1 160E 12707 V A Sky TV mux has started, Videoguard Encrypted, Sr 22500, Fec 3/4,PIDs 513/651-518/656, line-up: National Geographic Channel Australia,Discovery Channel Australia & New Zealand, TCM Australia,CNN International, BBC World and Animal Planet Australia & New Zealand. TVNZ TV One and TVNZ TV 2 have left this mux.
Apstar 1A 134E 4060 V "EuroSport" has started, Fta, Sr 7140, Fec 3/4, PIDs 34/35.
Asiasat 3 105.5E 3760 H "Channel Guide India" has left , replaced by a test card.
Yamal 102 90E 3539 L "ORR" has started , Fta, APID 257.
NEWS
Foxtel quietly plans to deal with watchdog
From http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,4573604%255E15306,00.html
FOXTEL CEO Kim Williams is hoping to avoid piecemeal debate on steps to be taken by the pay-TV group to alleviate competition concerns over its content-sharing deal with Optus.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission knocked back the proposed deal on Friday, saying it would lessen competition in a number of markets.
The deal was initially welcomed when it was announced in early March, but it has since been opposed by Telstra's competitors and numerous media companies.
Foxtel and Optus have now agreed to present enforceable undertakings to the ACCC in just over a week, that they hope will overcome its concerns. Williams has signalled that the creation of a transparent access regime would be one way of assuaging the ACCC, but he would not comment on other possible initiatives.
"We do not intend to have some serial process of negotiation through our media colleagues," he says.
"The presentation will be made in several weeks and we expect that to be the subject of public display and examination.
"We are not until then going to do some bit by bit exposition of what we are proposing to do."
The ACCC says it has problems with four main aspects of the deal. Foxtel and Optus, now operating loss-making pay-TV services, propose to share movie programming and to allow Foxtel's 50 per cent owner Telstra to bundle pay-TV with its other services.
The ACCC has accepted the position put by program suppliers, that the deal would effectively mean there would be only one buyer (Foxtel) in the program acquisition market. It also believes Foxtel will become the dominant distribution network, as the issue of access provision to the Telstra cable and Foxtel set-top box remains in dispute.
There would also be less competition in the supply of pay TV to homes as it would be hard for consumers to pick the difference between the Foxtel and Optus products, the ACCC says.
The final issue concerns the provision of a wholesaled Foxtel service to other pay-TV and telephony companies. The ACCC believes Telstra's equity stake in Foxtel will lead it to persuade Foxtel not to provide the channel package to its competitors.
And that could reduce competition in the telephony and broadband markets, the ACCC says.
Williams says Foxtel would work closely with the ACCC to ensure the deal progressed. "This agreement must proceed for Australia to progress and develop globally aligned digital services and technologies which serve Australian consumers," he says.
"A sustainable subscription TV sector will enable the next wave of investment required to advance Australian digital industries and expand consumer choices and competition in subscription TV, telephony, internet and broadband services."
The ACCC has also been asked to report to Communications Minister Richard Alston on the implications the proposed deal has on emerging services and markets. ACCC chairman Allan Fels says most of the watchdog's initial inquiries focused on the "here and now", but it was also looking at future markets.
"As broadband develops, certain markets which don't exist at the moment may develop and will want access to content," he says.
"That wouldn't be a great issue if Foxtel was just made up of pure content suppliers such as [The Australian's owner] News Limited and Publishing&Broadcasting, but because Telstra is involved it may be there might be competition issues in the future."
Hanoi restricts satellite TV to a select few
From ?
Except for top officials and foreigners, Vietnamese will be prohibited from watching 'bad' foreign TV broadcasts
HANOI - Only top government officials and a few others - mainly foreigners -will be allowed to watch international satellite television in Vietnam under a new government order, state-controlled media said yesterday.
Prime Minister Phan Van Khai signed the directive last week as part of a recent retightening of control over the media by the ruling Communist Party.
The media are viewed as the mouthpiece of the Communist Party.
All TV stations in Vietnam are operated by the government, and all newspapers are published by government or party-controlled organisations.
Recent articles in the official press about an increase in satellite dishes have warned that some foreign TV broadcasts are 'bad' but did not elaborate.
The government accuses the foreign media frequently of slandering Vietnam with negative reports on its human rights record, and of backing overseas 'hostile forces' out to overthrow the government.
According to the directive, the only Vietnamese allowed to view satellite TV nbwill be top party and government leaders, ministers and vice-ministers, ngovernors and vice-governors, city mayors and vice-mayors, and media norganisations, the newspaper Dau Tu reported.
Foreign organisations, including news agencies and foreign companies, and hotels with international guests will also be able to install satellite TV equipment, it said.
People who wish to import satellite TV dishes and receivers must seek npermission from the Trade Ministry, the newspaper added.
Ordinary Vietnamese, who are not allowed to install satellite dishes, have been able to subscribe in recent years to a government-run service called MMDS, which provides several foreign TV channels, including CNN, MTV, Discovery Channel and Star Movies.
Last week's directive reinforces an earlier ban on satellite TV viewing, which had been ignored by an increasing number of people, particularly in southern Ho Chi Minh City.
Satellite dishes and receivers have been available for purchase in some shops in the city.
The Communist Party marked last week's annual Revolutionary Press Day with
declarations that it would continue to control the country's media.
Its newspaper Nhan Dan carried an article saying the party would never allow any privately owned newspapers or magazines because without party and state control, the media could not be 'for the people and of the people'.
It also accused the Western press of favouring the rich and powerful.
Several Vietnamese newspapers played a prominent role in recent months inn investigating and revealing details of a corruption scandal in which senior officials and dozens of police were accused of protecting a notorious underworld gang in Ho Chi Minh City.
At least 93 people, including seven police officers, two prosecutors and a journalist, have been arrested for suspected links to the gang, led by Truong Van Cam.But last week, the Communist Party's top ideology official instructed all newspapers to limit their coverage of the scandal, saying their stories had revealed state secrets and caused internal divisions - both of which are mnpunishable with long prison terms. --AP
Lockheed Martin-Led Team Ships N-STAR c Satellite to Kourou for July Launch
From satnewsdaily
The N-STAR c telecommunications satellite, designed and built by a Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems/Orbital Sciences team for NTT DoCoMo, Inc., was shipped recently from the production facilities in Newtown, Pa. to Kourou, French Guiana, where it will be readied for a mid-July launch.
N-STAR c, which will be launched on an Ariane 5 launch vehicle, will operate in the S-band frequency band with a C-band feeder link from its orbital location at 136 degrees East longitude. N-STAR c is optimized for a 10-year life on-orbit, and will provide mobile telephony and data transfer services to Japan and its surrounding waters.
NTT DoCoMo, Inc., Japan's premier mobile communications company, provides wireless voice and data communications to tens of millions of subscribers. NTT DoCoMo is the creator of W-CDMA air interface technology, the new de facto global industry standard, as well as the groundbreaking mobile i-mode service.
For N-STAR c, Lockheed Martin served as prime contractor, providing the entire payload, which was integrated onto the Orbital Sciences Corporation's STAR-2 bus. The satellite was assembled and integrated at Lockheed Martin facilities in Newtown, Pa.
Iridium Satellite Secures Distribution Agreements with Major Telecom Providers in the Asia Pacific Region
From satnewsdaily
Iridium Satellite LLC today announced that it has added three major Asia-Pacific Telcos to its extensive global distribution network. The contracts with Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (SingTel), Telstra Corporation Limited (Telstra) and Telikom Papua New Guinea (Telikom PNG) significantly enhance the availability of Iridium's global voice and data services to government, industrial and individual users in the Asia Pacific region. These deals, combined with recently announced agreements with Europe-based service partners Telenor Satellite Services, France Telecom Mobile Satellite Services and Xantic, reflect a growing demand for Iridium's unique remote communications offerings.
"The interest level by the international telecommunications community clearly validates our business plan," said Gino Picasso, chief executive officer of Iridium Satellite LLC. "Multinational companies, governments and individual users seeking remote communications capabilities have several new options to purchase Iridium services. Iridium fills a critical infrastructure void as 86 percent of the world's landmass and oceans are not covered by terrestrial wireless services."
The service partners, which will market and sell Iridium services through their global dealer networks, offer specific market expertise and expect the new remote capabilities afforded by Iridium to complement their existing portfolios of satellite-based services. Iridium's business model, which relies on delivering highly reliable and affordable service offerings to very targeted markets that require remote communications capabilities, attracted the new partners.
SingTel will deliver Iridium services to commercial shipping, forestry, aeronautical, energy, construction, mining and maritime customers throughout Asia.
Telstra strengthens rural and remote communications throughout Australia and is working with the Australian government to offer affordable rural telephony services.
Telikom PNG will reach 80 percent of New Guinea's population located in rural and remote areas, including potential customers: national disaster services, police and defense surveillance operations, health centers, mission stations and mining sites.
These latest additions to Iridium's extensive distribution network build on the many positive milestones experienced by the company over the last year. In February, Iridium successfully launched five spare satellites to ensure the life span of the constellation, which is expected to last until at least mid- 2010. The company completed its complement of 14 in-orbit spares with thesuccessful launch of two additional satellites on June 20, 2002.
7-10 Agrani satellite transponders to be used for DTH platform
From indiantelevision.com
After Star, it is the turn of the Subhash Chandra-controlled Essel Group promoted ASC Enterprises Limited (ASCEL) to apply for a DTH license.
When contacted, Ashish Kaul, ASCEL spokesperson told indiantelevision.com, "Yes we have applied for a DTH license."
Agrani Satellite Services Limited (an ASC Enterprise) has signed a turnkey satellite contract for India's first private sector satellite initiative, thus agreeing to procure a geostationary, C & Ku band satellite from Alcatel Space Industries of France. The deal involves 'in-orbit delivery' of the satellite and a ground control station by Alcatel and Arianespace will provide the Launch Services. The project is estimated to cost Rs11 billion.
According to Kaul, seven to 10 transponders on the satellite will be used for the DTH platform, while the remaining will be used for telecom purposes. There is no clear word though when the company proposes to launch the DTH platform. But considering the fact that the Agrani satellite is expected to become operational at the end of 2003, it can only be after that. One can expect that by then the picture on DTH will be very different from what it is today.
The high power KU band spot beam of the proposed Agrani satellite is ideally suited for DTH signals, as well as to provide domestic bandwidth to various telecom and Internet service providers (ISPs), analysts said.
The power of the Ku band transponder(s) on the proposed Agrani satellite is designed to take care of heavy rainfall in coastal and hilly areas of the country.
"The project will save foreign exchange outflow, enable TV channels to be up-linked from Indian soil using Indian Satellite system," a senior executive of an Indian-controlled broadcasting company opined.
ASSL is the first Indian private satellite system to be authorised by the government of India under the May 2000 SatCom policy framework. The government has also approved the equity participation of Alcatel and Arianespace in ASSL.
ASSL's Ku-band capacity offering features a high downlink power in India compared to the best available in the region, and a unique India-Europe connectivity that is suitable for Internet backbone access. ASSL also has the ability to offer turnkey bundled solutions and technical consulting services for India-specific requirements.
The Agrani transponders will support a broad range of applications ranging from TV broadcasting and DTH to rural and remote area communications, providing telecom media diversity along critical long distance routes to improve resilience against natural or man made disasters, private and public VSAT networks, domestic and international Internet backbone bandwidth as well as direct access and international connectivity among others.
Agrani may get DTH licence first
From http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=14190925
NEW DELHI: Subhash Chandra may finally pip Rupert Murdoch to the post in launching the country’s first direct-to-home broadcasting venture.
Chandra’s Agrani Satellite Services Enterprises sent its application for DTH to the ministry of information and broadcasting on Monday. Confirming the move, a spokesperson of the company, however, refused to give details about the project cost.
Interestingly, ASC’s DTH platform would be broadcaster neutral and be open to all the other rival channels, the company said. Subhash Chandra is also the promoter of Zee Telefilms that airs over a dozen cable and satellite channels.
Though ASC is an Indian company, global telecom players such as Alcatel and Arianespace hold equity stake in the Rs 1,100 crore Agrani project. The ASC spokesperson said being an Indian company, the clauses relating to 49 per cent cap on foreign direct investment and 20 per cent sectoral cap on media companies would not be applicable to the company’s DTH venture.
ASC Enterprises has signed a deal with Alcatel Space Industries of France under which it will procure a geostationary C and KU band satellite from the latter. The deal involves ’in-orbit delivery’ of the satellite and a ground control station by Alcatel whereas Arianespace will provide the launch services. The government has already approved the equity participation of Alcatel and Arianespace in Agrani.
ASC plans to use up to 10 transponders for the DTH platform, while the remainder will be used for telecom purposes. Agrani will have 12 C-band transponders in its Indian coverage beam and 12 C-band transponders in Asian coverage beam.
The 14 KU-band transponders are distributed over two beams, one for India coverage and the other over Middle-East, South-East Asia, or Europe. All transponders have a 36 MHz bandwidth, except the two KU-band transponders, which are of 54 MHz bandwidth. Each 36-MHz transponder is capable of transmitting up to 45 mbps or 8 to 10 compressed digital video channels.
The company is the second player to have jumped in the fray for a DTH licence after the government opened DTH broadcasting services in the country in November 2000. Earlier this year, Space Television, a company believed to be backed by Hong Kong-based STAR TV, had applied for a DTH licence with certain riders. However, the application was rejected by the government.
Broadcasting industry has been pleading with the government for relaxation in DTH norms and raising the FDI bar to 49 per cent. However, the government has not so far agreed to such pleas.
26/06/02
Good news! a new FTA radio station on B1 for people in NZ! I got a good reply back with a short and sweet answer from George FM about having their station FTA.
From: george <george@georgefm.co.nz>
"Done - free to air channel 104"
I have emailed them, thanking them for supporting FTA open access and offering to support any listener who wishes to find out about receiving Radio or TV via FTA in NZ. I have also forwarded instructions for them to post on their George Fm website for any listener who wishes to tune into George FM via a FTA satellte receiver. It would be nice if others emailed George Fm to show we appreciate them being FTA.
New link for Bali TV on Palapa C2 , this channel reported in Australia and NZ. Palapa C2 page has been updated including information on how to access the TVguide for this new channel. I can't find the program guide at their homepage but its available at the Balipost newspaper site.
http://www.balitelevisi.com/
From my Emails & ICQ
From Hans Versluys (NZ)
Subject: AsiaSat2 re-broadcasting rights
Dear Craig,
I read the question from Mike on your site regarding re-broadcasting AsiaSat2 channels on local community television.
We run the Auckland regional community channel since 1998 and we have re-broadcasting contracts with some AsiaSat2 channels.
For Deutsche Welle, contact Victoria Quade, victoria.quade@jcu.edu.au
For TV5, contact Isabelle Renou, tv5.bangkok@anet.net.th
For WorldNet, contact Joyce Ngoh, NgohJ@state.gov
In our experience we have had no problems getting permission to re-broadcast programmes, but they do come with various restrictions attached.
I hope that may be of help to your correpsondent.
Kind regards,
Hans Versluys
Director of Programming, Triangle Television
hans@tritv.co.nz
http://www.tritv.co.nz
PO Box 78-034, Grey Lynn, Auckland, New Zealand
+64 9 376 5030
From Mike (NZ)
Subject: stratos albany newspaper item
a 15 metre satellite dish tower has been approved for albany,although north shore city councillors are divided over it.stratos new zealand sought council consent to install six satellite dishes at the company,s offices in unity drive.councillors margaret miles and mike tafua told the councils regulatory and hearings comittee on thursday the tower would spoil the views for nearby residents."i would not like to live in any of those highway properties and look out to see six satellite dishes to that extent"',mrs miles said."there is an adverse visual effect that will be more than minor".
From Chris Pickstock 25/06/02
5.40 pm SA time
Is there some Rugby on tonight? Right now, B1, 12420 V, sr 6980, there is a Globecast test card up saying "Foxsport Rugby, Gosford"
Chris
(Craigs comment it was Australia -A vs France -A", also reported on Satelindo on Palapa C2)
From the Dish
Activity on Sky NZ Optus B1, All are NDS encrypted. Sr 22500 Fec 3/4
Optus B1 160E 12608 V "George FM" FTA Radio Apid 663, Sid 1104 Pmt 275 128k J/stereo
Optus B1 160E 12706 V "National Geographic" Vpid 513 Apid 651 Pcr 149 Sid 1012 Pmt 265
Optus B1 160E 12706 V "Discovery" Vpid 514 Apid 652 Pcr 150 Sid 1013 Pmt 266
Optus B1 160E 12706 V "Animal Planet" Vpid 518 Apid 656 Pcr 154 Sid 1014 Pmt 270
Optus B1 160E 12706 V "CNN" Vpid 516 Apid 654 Pcr 152 Sid 1015 Pmt 268
Optus B1 160E 12706 V "??" Vpid 512 Apid 650 Pcr 148 Sid 1018 Pmt 264
Optus B1 160E 12706 V "BBC World" Vpid 517 Apid 655 Pcr 153 Sid 1026 Pmt 269
Optus B1 160E 12706 V "TCM" Vpid 515 Apid 653 Pcr 151 Sid 1044 Pmt 267
Apstar 2R 76.5E 3960 H "It's Cinemax Asia and Cinemax Malaysia", Digicipher 2/enc.
Intelsat 704 66E 4055 R "EuroSport News" has started, Fta, PIDs 2825/2823.
NEWS
Australian Media Groups To Be Consulted On Foxtel-Optus Deal
From http://au.news.yahoo.com/020624/3/a8pl.html
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will use consultations with Australia's major media companies to determine its stance on further content-sharing proposals between Foxtel and Optus.
The ACCC on Friday blocked the initial deal by Foxtel and Optus to reduce costs by sharing programs.
ACCC chairman Allan Fels said the proposed tie-up would likely breach the Trade Practices Act by lessening competition.
Today, Professor Fels, who wants a new draft of the proposed deal within two weeks, said the ACCC was planning to consult Australia's other major media bodies, including Fairfax Holdings Ltd, Ten Network Holdings Ltd and Seven Network Ltd, on the deal.
"We've had an offer from them (Foxtel) to present serious proposals to us concerning access," Professor Fels told ABC television."We'll look at them for a week or two after they've presented them to us in two weeks."Then they're to be made available to all those people ... for their reactions to us, as well as maybe to Foxtel."
Foxtel is 50 per cent owned by Telstra Corp Ltd, 25 per cent owned by News Corp Ltd (ASX:NCP) and 25 per cent owned by PBL Ltd (ASX:PBL).
Professor Fels said the ACCC had an open mind on whether Australia's pay-TV market was large enough to support two competing operators.
"We have simply decided that the original proposal clearly would substantially lessen competition in a number of markets," he said.
Professor Fels added that Foxtel and Optus had not attempted to invoke certain provisions based on the deal being potentially beneficial to the public good.
He acknowledged that SingTel could exit the pay-TV market if the ACCC stood by its decision to block the deal.
"We're getting plenty of submissions from different parties as to how seriously we should take that, and we are considering submissions from Optus and SingTel about the matter," he said."They've not said that they're pulling out, but they've said that it would be a setback to them and they might have to pull out if the deal was rejected."
Professor Fels also acknowledged the deal could provide some pro-competitive results to the pay-TV industry, such as equal access to content for both Optus and Telstra.
"But the (Trade Practices) act says that if a proposal would lessen competition in any market, it's a problem," he said."For example, consumers will basically have the same program being supplied to them by Foxtel and Optus, whereas at the moment they have a choice.
"Also regarding acquisition of content and channels and ... sports channels so on, at the moment there are two competitors - now there will essentially be one buyer."On the face of it, that's anti-competitive and raises an issue over the act."
The ACCC's initial blocking of the deal on Friday wrought havoc on the shareprices of most involved in the proposed deal.
News Corp shares plunged to a three-and-a-half year low, down 51 cents or 4.4 per cent, at $10.98.
Its preferred scrip was down 40 cents at $9.27.
PBL was down one cent at $9.10 while Telstra managed to gain one cent to $4.59.
Optus owner Singapore Telecommunications was down four cents at $1.33.
ASIA PULSE
Pakistan likely to buy satellite from US firm
From http://www.dawn.com/2002/06/25/top15.htm
Pakistan has sent a high level delegation to Germany for negotiating a satellite deal with American and European satellite operators after Turkey expressed its inability to do frequency coordination for the satellite, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Dr Atta-ur-Rehman, told Dawn.
Earlier, Pakistan had contacted Turkey to buy Anatolia 1 satellite and shift it from 50 E orbital slot, owned by Turkey, to 38 E orbital slot of Pakistan by February 2003.
The Hughes Global Services Company of the US has a major portion of shares in Anotolia 1.
Dr Atta-ur-Rehman said Pakistan had decided to buy two satellites, one to occupy the 38 E orbital slot and the other as a back-up option in the same slot. "Pakistan is holding negotiations with Hughes of USA for Anatolia 1," the minister said. Investigations show the Anatolia 1 satellite, for which Pakistan is now directly negotiating with Hughes company of the US, has a troubled history.
Recently a government-funded think-tank in Islamabad had warned the government about buying the second hand Anatolia 1.
According to the user manual guide of Anatolia 1 of the Hughes Inc. available with Dawn, in November 1998, an anomaly precluded battery recharge after the eclipse. The satellite, according to the manual, is operable 24 hours/day outside eclipse and 20 plus hours/day during eclipse.
Industry sources said Anotolia 1 was first sold to Indonesia in 1996 which claimed insurance money after the satellite developed electrical problems. The satellite was resold to the Hughes company.
The satellite, which started life as Palapa C1, is a series 601 satellite, built by Boeing. It was launched on Jan 31, 1996, using an Atlas 2AS booster and was slotted at 150 degrees East after launching from Kourou in French Guiana.
The sources said Anotolia 1, three years after its launch, developed electrical problems when its Battery Charge Controller failed, leaving the satellite with no way to recharge its onboard batteries after an eclipse period.
The sources further said that its mission to provide telecommunications links to Indonesia was finished after less than three years.
Indonesia settled an insurance claim and the satellite ownership passed to the insurance company. In January 1999, Hughes Global Services purchased the satellite from the insurers, and it was renamed as HGS 3. The work was started to develop procedures that would have allowed the satellite a useful working life but the satellite still does not generate sufficient power to keep it running through the eclipse periods, the sources said.
In December 2000, Kalitel, which is a USA-based company, leased HGS 3 from Hughes and moved it to 50 degrees East.
The sources said a high-powered delegation, which has now left for negotiations with Hughes and another European company in Munich, comprises Chairman of National Telecommunication Company Air Vice Marshal Maud, Suparco chairman Major-Gen Raza, PTCL chairman Akhtar Bajwa, director of legal PTCL, Aslam Hayat, director of Frequency Allocation Board Captain Iftikhar and Adviser ot IT Division Salman Ansari.
The American and the European satellite operators had chosen Munich, Germany, as the venue for meeting, sources said.
When asked about the troubled history of Anotolia 1, the minister said the final decision on the choice of the satellites would be taken by the cabinet based on the recommendations of the PAKSAT committee.
25/06/02
Live chat in the chatroom 9pm NZ and 8.30 Syd time onwards. Yes I know Worldcup soccer and Wimbledon are on might be a little quiet in there. Maybe some feeds of these 2 will be up there somewhere. Plenty of items in the news section today hope you find something of interest.
Mailing list problems,
Due to a problem at Yahoo Groups with one of their servers a lot of users have been shut out of the mailing list by being on the bounced list. I just cleared over 100 members off the mailing list. Those having trouble should unsubscribe and then resubscribe (please use the same name)
to un subscribe please send a blank message to
apsattv-unsubscribe@egroups.com
And if you wish to re subscribe
Wimbledon look for feeds, via Asiasat 2 perhaps?
Jcsat 8 at 154E anyone looked for this lately?
From my Emails & ICQ
From a Telstra Clear (NZ) Cable Customer
The letter arrived today - price of Sky Sports package increasing from
$10 to $14.95 from next Monday. That's a 50% increase - a bit
excessive, I think. And naturally, TelstraClear give their usual short
notice.
From Bill Richards
Some excellent quality screenshots of the new Macau mux on Asiasat 2
Macau-Eastlife tv, Chinese TV Guide
New cartoon Satellite tv, Macau Asia Satellite tv
From the Dish
Apstar 1A 134E 3884 V New PIDs for Lady TV: 32/33.
Palapa C2 113E 3758 V "RCTI Soccer Worldcup" feed, Sr 3300 Fec 7/8
Palapa C2 113E 3926 H "Bali TV" has started, Fta, Sr 4208, Fec 3/4, PIDs 308/256.(Can anyone in Aus or NZ get this now?)
Palapa C2 113E 4053 H "Bali TV" has left , replaced by a test card.
Yamal 102 90E 3539 L A TRT test card has started , Fta, Sr 3570, Fec 3/4,PIDs 308/256.
Apstar 2R 76.5E The Era Bouquet has moved from 12629 H to 12642 H, Viaccess 1, SR 21500,FEC 3/4.
CNN International Asia, Cartoon Network, TVB 8 and TVBS Newsnet on PIDs 169/116 have left this mux. CCTV 4 has started on PIDs 166/104, clear.
NEWS
Stardust Tests New ESA Deep-Space Ground Station in Australia
From satnewsdaily
The spacecraft Stardust, which is on its way to meet the Comet Wild 2 in January 2004, last week helped ESA to carry out final testing of the Agency’s first deep-space ground station, situated just 140 km north of Perth in New Norcia, Australia.
ESA’s new 35-metre telemetry, tracking and command antenna has a pointing accuracy of 0.01 degrees and will be a vital link in ESA’s Rosetta mission to the comet Wirtanen. This is one of the most ambitious scientific missions ever to be launched and is scheduled to take place early in 2003.
The 630-tonne antenna will be the main communications link between Rosetta and Mission Control at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Germany. It will also be used to transmit and receive data from other space missions sent to explore the Universe beyond the Moon, such as ESA’s Mars Express, also scheduled for launch in 2003.
Stardust, which is a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory mission, was selected for the tracking tests as it is on an interplanetary trajectory currently more than 300 million km from the Earth. As it passed over Australia on 8 June, at a maximum elevation of over 70 degrees, the New Norcia ground station successfully tracked the spacecraft and received its signals.
The main objectives of the tests were to confirm the quality of the pointing of the antenna and to see the downlink signal on a spectrum analyser - configured by a team from ESOC - to catch the low signals coming from the spacecraft. The characteristics of the signal, together with precise orbital data, were kindly provided by the Stardust team based at JPL. Their cooperation made it possible to localise the spacecraft spectrum approximately half an hour after the nominal downlink switch on.
Three days later additional tests were carried out to check the pointing and to confirm the capability of the Intermediate Frequency Modem System (IFMS) to track precisely the downlink carrier for orbit determination purposes. All the objectives were successfully achieved and the antenna has demonstrated that it is working well. Everything is now ready for the official handover to ESA in July 2002.
Satellite Operators Remain Bullish on Asian Market; Offer New Satellite Services
From satnewsasia.com
Despite the slump in telecoms and growing competition from cable, satellite operators remain optimistic of the future of the satellite industry in Asia.
CEOs of different satellite companies in Asia said they continue to expand coverage and operation and are focusing on services that do not directly compete with cable. Romain Busch, President and CEO of SES Global said his company is executing a four-pronged strategy to capture more business. He said the strategy consists of -- strengthening its core business, expanding its existing products and services in new geographic markets, driving capacity demand with new products and services, and strengthening its regional presence.
Takuya Yoshida, CEO of JSAT said there was a need to continue "expanding the horizon" to reach out to areas now covered by satellites and offer them new products and services.
Christopher Baugh, Principal Analysts of Northern Sky Research observed that the Asia satellite market recovery is still pending and that there was an overcapacity of 60 - 70%. However, he said there is a growing number of VSAT upgrades and leading prospects for opportunities include small offices and SMEs, government agencies and IP content applications.
At the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) conference earlier this week, satellite operators said they are working to solve regulatory and tax issues in countries, such as Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines, which are hampering the growth of the industry. William David Wade, Deputy Executive Officer of AsiaSat said CASBAA is working with different government agencies in the region to "level the playing field."
CASBAA also announced the holding of the ninth annual CASBAA Convention this year to be held in Singapore on December 4-6 at Esplanade: Theatres on the Bay complex.
CASBAA is the region's leading non-profit trade organization for the promotion of multi-channel television and data transmission via cable and satellite networks. It represents some 110 Asia-based corporations, which in turn serve more than 3 billion people. Member organisations include, AOL Time Warner, Vivendi Universal, MTV, Arianespace, Discovery, ESPN STAR Sports, Intelsat, JSAT, ABN Amro, Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation, BBC, Bloomberg Television, Boeing Space Systems, STAR TV, AsiaSat and Turner International.
This week, glitz and gadgets were again the features of this year's CommunicAsia and Broadcast Asia held from June 18-21, although the annual trade show lacked the usual buzz as more companies opt out and the recovery in the high-tech industry remains uncertain. Despite this, a myriad of new products and services were unveiled for the first time previewing the latest the industry has to offer for Asia.
Steven Tan, chief executive of organizer Singapore Exhibition Services admitted this year's show is slightly smaller than last year, with the net area occupied by exhibiting companies sliding by 20 percent and the number of exhibiting firms falling by 12-13 percent.
But he said it is just a matter of time before the industry regains vibrancy and growth momentum. "Latest industry research lends strength to this outlook and there are sufficient reasons to be optimistic about the prospects for the region's ICT economy," Tan said.
This years CommunicAsia played host to 1,448 exhibiting companies from 41 countries, occupying 46,000 sq metres of exhibition space at the Singapore Expo. Ericsson leads the pack with an impressive 500 square metres booth.
It also featured the inaugural SatComm2002 sub-show has got off to a great start having garnered the support of more than 40 exhibiting companies including world leaders such as ACeS, Andrew, Arianespace, Boeing, China Sat, Gilat, Intelsat and Shin Satellite amongst others. Visitors were able to see can a demonstration of Gilat's newest VSAT, the 360E satellite modem that provides non-stop broadband Internet access to businesses. Indonesia's ACeS showcased the world's smallest fixed satellite terminal. eBiz2002.
CommunicAsia2002 was held concurrently with BroadcastAsia2002, Asia's largest broadcasting and multimedia exhibition. BroadcastAsia is billed as the industry's critical arena for technology updates, equipment sourcing and a great opportunity to network. Broadcast Asia also featured four shows: CableSat2002, ComGraphics&Animation2002, ProfessionalAudioTechnology 2002 and BroadcastAsia2002 International Conference.
Boeing Selects Mitsubishi Electric Corporation As Strategic Supplier for Next-Generation Antenna
From satnewsasia.com
Connexion by Boeing said that Mitsubishi Electric Corporation would design and produce the next-generation antenna for its high-speed data and Internet service.
The antenna will be optimized to provide commercial airlines and business jet operators with high-speed access to data, the Internet and streaming entertainment content during flight. Under the terms of the agreement, Connexion by Boeing and Mitsubishi Electric will work together to design the antenna and supporting subsystem, and to ensure its suitability for retrofit and in-line installation on Boeing aircraft, as well as other industry models. Mitsubishi Electric will also assist Connexion by Boeing ensure that the first antenna production unit is installation-ready when it rolls off the assembly line in late 2003.
?Our team conducted a rigorous review of key industry suppliers' antenna capabilities, and Mitsubishi Electric met the airline industry requirements, as well as our criteria for next-generation performance and cost,” said Connexion by Boeing President Scott Carson. “Having the right antenna solution supports our objective of delivering to the airlines a connectivity service that adds value, but not complexity, and one that will be service ready from Day One.”
Mitsubishi Electric has received direct industry inputs on performance, weight and power requirements necessary for the next-generation antenna to meet both passenger and airline operational connectivity objectives. The decision to move forward with the next-generation antenna design was mutually agreed upon between Connexion by Boeing and the airlines after conducting an extensive trade study of the necessary performance and communication requirements.
?We are honored to be a key part of Connexion by Boeing by providing an enhanced solution for the next-generation antenna. Connexion by Boeing's decision also ensures our leading position in the mobile satellite communications market,” said Tamotsu Nomakuchi, President & CEO of Mitsubishi Electric.
The next-generation antenna will incorporate a single aperture design that will provide enhanced satellite-to-aircraft scan angles and also use leading-edge beam pointing technology with enhanced electronics capabilities to precisely detect and track satellites from the aircraft during flight. Connexion by Boeing will use the Boeing phased array antenna for the commencement of commercial airline service demonstrations and migrate to the enhanced next-generation antenna once production, testing and certification are complete.
Gilat Announces New Customers in Korea, Mongolia and the Philippines; Gilat Expands Its Activities in India
From satnewsasia.com
Israel’s Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. has signed contracts with three Asian companies to deploy broadband satellite communications networks at more than 560 sites and has expanded its business operations in India.
Gilat is providing Korea Telecom International (KTI) with 345 units of its Skystar Advantage VSAT product, a two-way, Internet Protocol-optimized equipment. Skystar is expected to enable KTI to deploy a wide range of interactive data and web-based applications for the education and corporate markets. KTI, a wholly owned subsidiary of Korea Telecom, also expects to use the VSAT network to provide corporations with enterprise-wide Internet access, IP-based interactive data and corporate training applications.
Radio Communications of the Philippines, Inc. (RCPI) has selected Gilat for a 159-site DialAw@y IP fixed rural satellite telephony network for use in its public call offices (PCOs) throughout the Philippines. The VSAT network also includes the provision of high-speed Internet connectivity. Gilat was also selected by Incomnet LLC to provide a two-way, DialAw@y IP network for use throughout Mongolia. The network includes an initial order of 60 VSAT terminals and is expected to be used by Incomnet to provide consumers and businesses with telephony and high-speed Internet service in the financial services, mining, tourism, retail petroleum and government markets.
In India, Gilat was selected by its long-time customer, HCL Comnet Ltd., to provide 360E satellite hub stations and 500 VSAT terminals. HCL Comnet has also completed the deployment of a nationwide, 600-site broadband satellite communications network for the State Bank of India (SBI). SBI, India's largest bank, which is using Gilat's Skystar Advantage and 360E VSATs for automatic teller machine (ATM) applications and other interactive data applications.
Bharti Broadband Networks Ltd. launched its Skymantra-Power Internet service-based on the 360E platform for the corporate, small-to-medium enterprise (SME) and small office-home office (SOHO) markets earlier this year. Bharti was the first Indian company to choose the 360E platform and eventually established for its client Sahara India one of the largest shared hub systems in Indian VSAT history. Comsat Max Ltd., another long-standing Gilat customer, chose the 360E platform in October 2001 and has already purchased 1,000 units.
Indian media recently reported that Gilat captured nearly 70 percent of the market for Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) VSATs for the period April 2001 to March 2002. Gilat is a leading provider of telecommunications solutions based on VSAT satellite network technology and has shipped nearly 400,000 VSATs worldwide. The company provides satellite-based, end-to-end enterprise networking and rural telephony solutions to customers across six continents, and markets interactive broadband data services.
HK TVB Cuts Price For Pay TV Stake To Lure Investors
From satnewsasia.com
Television Broadcasts Ltd. (TVB), Hong Kong’s dominant free-to-air TV broadcaster, has slashed the price for a 50% stake in its pay-TV arm, Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting, to lure investors to the business.
Ronald Jones, senior manager of TVB's business development department, said TVB originally wanted to sell the stake in Galaxy for US$200 million but will now cut the price to make it more attractive. Jones, however, did not indicate a new price but said press reports setting the new price at US$100 million were wrong. The government demands that TVB reduce its stake in Galaxy to 50% or less by June 5 because of TVB's dominant position in the free-to-air broadcasting market. TVB was also forced to delay its pay-TV launch by 18 months after other license winners. TVB has applied for an extension of the deadline to February 2003 and is negotiating with potential investors in the project.
The government is widely expected to extend the deadline because i-Cable Communications would maintain its near monopoly status in the pay-TV market without competition from TVB. i-Cable has been the only pay-TV operator in Hong Kong since winning a license in 1993. TVB is expected to be a strong competitor because of its extensive programming experience and market experience.
Media reports earlier said TVB had not cancelled its US$64 million pay-TV project and that the company was talking to a number of potential investors. The potential investors include Pacific Century CyberWorks and satellite operator Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company (AsiaSat). Peter Jackson, AsiaSat CEO, said the company wouldn't invest in Galaxy on its own, as the project is too big, but that is was considering taking a smaller stake in Galaxy.
The only other potential rivals to i-Cable include U.K.-based Yes Television and Pacific Digital Media of Taiwan. Two of the original license winners—News Corp's Star TV and Sino-i.com's pay-TV arm, Hong Kong Network TV—have abandoned their pay-TV plans citing stiff competition.
Skyperfect Outlines New Digital Satellite Service
From satnewsasia.com
SkyPerfect Communications Inc. said its digital 110-degree communications satellite broadcast service it plans to launch July 1 will offer 59 channels and modest fees.
The service, Sky PerfecTV! 2, will include entertainment stations. SkyPerfect plans to charge subscribers a sign-up fee of US$22.7 and a basic monthly service fee of 390 yen. The service will enable consumers to access both services via a single receiver since it will be broadcast from a communications satellite at the same 110-degrees-east location as the broadcast satellite service. STS-107 thus continues a rich tradition of shuttle-based life science, earth science, physical science and commercial research that is beginning to reap benefits in the new era of the International Space Station.
Hitachi, Toyota to launch satellite network - paper
From http://news.cnet.com/investor/news/newsitem/0-9900-1028-20078064-0.html?tag=ats
Hitachi Ltd, Toyota Motor Corp and other major Japanese firms plan to set up a joint venture in October to offer advanced communication systems via a new satellite network to be launched in 2007, a Japanese newspaper reported.
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun said in its online Tuesday edition that the group will include about 10 firms, including leading electronics makers like Mitsubishi Electric Corp.
In 2008, the new company will start offering next-generation services with the satellite that will enable data transmission of a higher quality than on existing global positioning system services.
The system can be installed in cars to transmit satellite television or in mobile terminals to send information on such things as the availability of parking spaces, the paper said.
The government will provide 100 billion yen ($822 million) to develop and launch the satellites, while the private sector will pay to develop the transceiver and operate the system, the paper said.
CNBC Asia Pacific forges strong relationship with TV Tokyo through equity investments
From indiantelevision.com
They are firming their presence in the land of the rising sun. Singapore-hqed CNBC Asia Pacific and GE Equity - the private equity arm of the General Electric Company - today announced that they were pumping in $15 million in Japanese broadcasting major TV Tokyo and picking up three per cent of its total outstanding equity.
This marks the first time that an American television network has made an investment in a major Japanese broadcasting company and places the duo as its seventh largest shareholder. As a result of the transaction, CNBC Asia Pacific will become the provider of choice for business news to TV Tokyo - one of the five principal TV networks in Japan -- and its affiliates. Currently, approximately 10% of TV Tokyo's programming is focused on news and business. TV Tokyo plans to enhance further its business news offerings, bolstering its coverage of markets around the world. The two companies will continue to explore further areas of potential collaboration.
TV Tokyo covers 67% of national households through five network local stations in the major cities. Its programming includes original entertainment, news (with an emphasis on financial reporting) and animated series including Pokemon and Duel Monsters.
Concurrently, TV Tokyo will invest in Nikkei-CNBC, CNBC Asia Pacific's Japanese language television business news network. TV Tokyo will take a 14% stake in Nikkei-CNBC. CNBC Asia Pacific and Nikkei, together with Jupiter Programming, have been partners in Japan since 1999. Nikkei-CNBC currently reaches over 4.2 million homes in Japan, offering 18 hours of Japanese language business news daily, including Tokyo Squawk Box, Market Watch and Tokyo Power Lunch.
"This investment is a major building block in CNBC's global strategy. Over the past several years, CNBC has become the major means by which investors can get business news information on any company in the world - as soon that news happens." said Bill Bolster, NBC's Chairman of CNBC's international operations. "It's no longer enough to know what's happening in the markets where you live - you have to know what's happening in markets all around the world. CNBC can give investors that information. Our investment in TV Tokyo is cementing our position as the number one provider of television business news on a global basis."
"This investment underscores our commitment to quality global business news coverage in Japan and around the world," added Karen House, President, Dow Jones International. "CNBC Asia Pacific is Asia's premier business and financial information network - drawing on the vast resources of CNBC and the Dow Jones Asia network. This partnership with TV Tokyo further strengthens the brand and our ability to reach critical audiences in Asia."
Alexander Brown, President and CEO of CNBC Asia Pacific, said, "We welcome TV Tokyo's participation in Nikkei-CNBC as part of the broadening of CNBC's commitments to the Japan market. It is our belief that these investments will most importantly benefit Japanese viewers through the delivery of better business and financial news programming.
Indian government proposes to remove FDI and cross media irritants in DTH once again: is it the real thing this time?
From indiantelevision.com
The Indian government is believed to be considering a proposal to lift the 20 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) cap in direct-to-home broadcasting ventures to 49 per cent. The difference this time: the voting rights will be capped at 20 per cent.
It is also proposing to the amend the cross media restrictions in a similar manner taking the cap up to 49 per cent but limiting the voting rights to 20 per cent, a senior information and broadcasting ministry official told indiantelevision.com late last night.
The lifting of the 20 per cent FDI ceiling means that DTH ventures could be in a position to attract enough capital. The inability to generate enough capital to flag off a DTH service has been a major constraint for Indian companies as they have been loathe to wait out the long gestation period that such a project would require to start generating profits. But one has to wait and watch whether foreign investors would be willing to cede control of a venture in which they would be pouring in hundreds of millions of dollars.
The hike in the cross media restriction limit could also prove attractive and will allow integrated media companies to exploit their content properties across another platform such as DTH. The key question is whether they would be willing to give up their voting rights.
Officials in the I&B say that an opinion has been sought from the department of company affairs on the issue of amending the FDI and cross media barriers and it has opined that prima facie it seems like the proposed changes seem all right.
However, this is not the first time that smoke signals have been sent out that the DTH regulations introduced in 2000 would be made more investment friendly. On several occasions in the past the government has made similar announcements only to find that it has not been able to translate it into action.
If the limit is removed and the norms are liberalised then it is quite likely that a risk-taking entrepreneur would take the plunge into DTH. One of the most interested players in the launching DTH in India has been global media baron Rupert Murdoch but his foray has been nipped in the bud by fearful rivals and an even more reluctant government.
24/06/02
New service radio service to transmit on Sky NZ, George FM will be on Skys channel 104 from July 1st. They've signed up with Sky to reach an even wider audience. I have already sent off an email to them explaining about the advantages of being FTA pointing out that National Radio, Concert FM, Wolf Radio are all FTA there in Skys service and that being FTA is an open access format that dosn't limit peoples access options.
B3 , 12336 V now has a Globecast card up, I guess we should be calling them Globecast from now on.
Model Flat
A new channel from Fashion TV, is FTA on Asiasat 2 "Model Flat" which is a Reality tv type look at a house full of Models. It has to be more appealing visually than Big Brother Australia ! here is the Homepage if your interested.
http://www.ftv.com/modelflat/modelflat.htm
Transmission parameters:
* Satellite: AsiaSat 2
* TXP: 4A
* Location: 100.5 Deg East.
* Uplink frequency: 6,017.42 MHZ
* Downlink Frequency : 3,792.42 MHz
* Transmit polarization : Horizontal
* Receive polarization : Vertical
* Modulation: QPSK
* Encoding: DVB-MPEG2
* Symbol Rate: 2.730 Msps
* FEC: 3/4
* BW : 3.7 MHz
From my Emails & ICQ
From Bill Richards 23/06/02
0840 UTC
Asiasat 2
Model Flat TV ?? 3792V SR 2730, FEC 3/4
No Video or Auto present
Vpid4194 Apid4195 SID1
Regards
Bill
From the Dish
Asiasat 2 100.5E 3792 V "ModelFlat" has started, Fta, Sr 2728, Fec 3/4.pids 4194/4195.
ST 1 88E 3582 H "NHK World TV and Arirang TV World 1" on PIDs 32/33 are time sharing.
ST 1 88E 3582 H "SET International and Star Sports" have replaced CTV and CTS ,Nagravision & Viaccess 1, PIDs 34/35 and 36/37.
Express 6A 80E 4125 R "Occasional TV Centr" feeds on , PIDs 161/84 and 165/100.
Express 6A 80E 4125 R New SID and PIDs for Novosti On Line Radio and ORR on 11-15 and 102-106.
PAS 10 68.5E Updates in Multichoice Africa:SuperSport 6 has started on 3836 V, Irdeto 2, PIDs 523/651.Idols has left 3863 V.New PIDs for RAI International 2 on 3716 V: 519/647.
NEWS
Clock ticks for Foxtel-Optus deal
From http://australianit.news.com.au
"ACCESS" is a small word that is about to give the federal Government, pay-TV players and some telephony groups a giant headache.
Foxtel chief Kim Williams is on the money when he says a transparent and enforceable access regime is the key to ensuring the thwarted Foxtel-Optus deal gains competition approval.
But making it happen is no easy feat.
If there was unfettered and commercial access to the Telstra cable and Foxtel set-top boxes today, then three of the concerns identified by the ACCC would be wiped out in an instant.
A proper access regime would provide the opportunity for more competition in the pay-TV sector.
That's because new pay-TV companies could then launch as they could gain access to pay-TV infrastructure with prior knowledge of the upfront costs they would need to make a quid.
And Foxtel (which owns its set-top boxes) and its 50 per cent owner Telstra (which owns the cable) know they are making enough money from providing that access to be able to meet maintenance costs, while also having an incentive to continue upgrading the network.
It all sounds so simple, but the reality has been horrifically different.
Telco companies and the Seven Network's defunct pay-TV sports channel C7 have been seeking access either on Telstra's telco network or to Foxtel's boxes for years without resolution.
The parties each cite their opponents' intransigence for the failure to seek agreement, and all the while the issue becomes increasingly complicated and antagonisms rise.
Such is its concern that Foxtel now says it will not invest the $500 million required to upgrade its network to digital until a new way forward is agreed.
Late last year, the independent Productivity Commission offered some solutions.
It criticised the ACCC's power to "declare" infrastructure - a move that means it can be involved in determining the price of access to those pipes.
And investors in infrastructure fear the ACCC may declare an access price below the rate needed to be able to maintain that asset.
And if your competitors get access to your pipe at a fraction of the cost to build it, why build it in the first place?
So the Productivity Commission suggested a new path be taken.
Options included an "access holiday" from the ACCC, binding rulings enabling a service to be exempted from declaration before it was built, or a regulatory compact with the ACCC, giving the owner the right to set prices.
The federal Government chose to try and create a new access regime which provides upfront certainty to investors, while also ensuring access to third parties.
Initial negotiations focused on a regime specific to a digital pay-TV platform.
But two months ago, the Government also raised the prospect of a broader "safe harbour" regime which would also encompass investment in other types of telco infrastructure.
Whatever is agreed, the move will require changes to the Trade Practices Act, and that means it has to be approved by the Senate.
As any Coalition politician knows, that is not easy.
Telstra, also considering investing in 3G infrastructure, unsurprisingly likes the broader regime. It also believes a pay-TV specific regime will be too easily portrayed as favouring the Packer and Murdoch media families, and so will not get through the Senate.
But Foxtel's other shareholders, The Australian's owner News Ltd and Nine Network owner Publishing & Broadcasting, are concerned the detailed work involved in preparing a broad regime means it will take forever to implement.
So that's one debate on the cards, even before the more difficult nitty-gritty issues (such as how to cost infrastructure and its maintenance, and how much profit is enough to be an incentive to continue upgrading the network?) even cross the mind.
The clock is ticking on the Foxtel-Optus deal, and for it to have any hope of getting ACCC approval many hard decisions must be made relatively quickly.
Ten Sports off INCableNet after raids
From indiantelevision.com
In the end, it was too good to last. Yesterday, Hinduja Group MSO INCableNet's subscribers who were tuned in to the quarter final match-up between new tournament favourites Brazil and England found themselves suddenly switched out.
The reason: raids that were conducted across the city at INCableNet headends by teams organised by Modi Entertainment Network (MEN), the Dubai-based sports broadcaster Ten Sports' distributor in India, for stealing unauthorised signals. Ten Sports has exclusive telecast rights in India and other South Asian countries for the World Cup.
Something of this sort has been on the cards following an order passed by the Delhi High Court on Thursday. As reported by the Economic Times, the path-breaking order empowers a Court Commissioner to enter the premises of any cable operator transmitting the signals without a licence, collect necessary evidence and initiate civil proceedings that could attract a hefty fine of Rs 2 million.
According to MEN, 19 headends across the city were raided. And as a further evidence gathering exercise, two subscribers per headend were also checked to check whether they were getting the signal.
A major raid was also organised at the Regent Hotel in the western suburb of Bandra, which is also serviced by INCableNet, MEN says.
The whole affair becomes more curious considering the fact that the Rajan Raheja-promoted MSO Hathway and INCableNet jointly announced on 7 June that they had thrashed out an agreement with Ten Sports to carry its signals. Hathway has been carrying Ten Sports since then. Not so INCableNet.
It was more than a week after the initial announcement that Ten Sports finally start airing on INCableNet. The reasons, according to INCableNet executives, being that were some internal issues that still needed sorting out.
These are the second set of raids that MEN has organised in Mumbai over unauthorised transmission of Ten Sports. On 31 May as well, MEN, armed with a restraining order issued by the Delhi High Court the previous day and applicable across the country, similar raids were carried out.
Judging by the latest standoff, it appears clear that internal issues will continue to impede on a resolution to this issue.
Mumbai cable operators in a spot
From http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_ID=13795974
NEW DELHI: The scene: A group of men huddled near a TV set, intently watching the Brazil-England quarter final World Cup 2002 soccer match being played out at Shizuoka, Japan. The location: A room at The Regent, Mumbai. One of men ask the hotel manager where the clear Ten Sports signal was being transmitted from.
Back came the response "IN Cable." And that was also a clear signal for the team in Mumbai to swing into action and record evidence of the transmission.
The charges: Gross violation of intellectual property rights. IN Cable Network does not own a licence to telecast the FIFA matches in Mumbai. The company will now be dragged to court and will have to cough up at least Rs 20 lakh damages for the offence.
The team was headed by the court commissioner, R S Chabra, — appointed by the Delhi High Court, empowering him to record evidence and initiate civil proceedings against the offender — unnamed during the trial, but apprehended during the raids that are currently on and will continue till the end of the soccer season across the country.
The judgement is seen as a landmark, echoing the John Doe order, common in the US and UK against unidentified infringers and resorted to when the IPR has a limited life.
"Even as we started recording evidence, the telecast stopped. It soon resumed, but this time it was the unclear signals from the Chinese channel , CCTV," says Shamnad Basheer, senior associate, Anand & Anand, the counsel for the aggrieved party, HMA Udyog, an exclusive distributor of Dubai-based Taj Television.
Taj holds the rights for the telecast of the football matches in India and other South Asian countries.
The same team stormed the control room of another head end operator in the Borivilli area in Mumbai on Saturday. Again, it turned out to be the premises of a distributor for IN Cable in the Borivilli area — Ganesh Naidu.
Oblivious of the IPR implications and hefty penalty he would attract, this operator actually contacted the local police complaining that a "fake" commissioner was questioning him on the Spain versus Korea match telecast.
High drama followed with a police team landing up to question the "unauthorised raid". There were sheepish faces all round, when the facts came to light.
Basheer said the Court team is now armed with sufficient recorded evidence of the infringements and would seek either civil or criminal justice. Under the Copyright Law of 1957, copyright infringement is a cognisable offence, attracting imprisonment of 6 months to three years and a fine of Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh.
Aastha To Target NRIs In US
From http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=11760
Kolkata: Aastha, the 24-hour devotional channel of the Creative Magic Media (CMM) Broad-casting Network which beams from the Thaicom 3 satellite, will soon be available to viewers in the US.
According to an Aastha official, the channel has been beaming throughout the world except the US for the past nine months.
Aastha, which is focussed on the socio-spiritual scene, is eyeing the non-resident Indians in the US, the UK and Canada.
According to industry souces, the company is planning to either get on to a direct-to-home (DTH) platform or enter into an arrangement with multiple system operators (MSOs) to turn Aastha into a pay channel. Arrangements with operators in regions where the channel already has a footprint are also being firmed up.
However, the Aastha official denied that the channel had plans to go pay.
?I am totally unaware of any such move. As far as I know, the company has no plans to get onto a DTH platform or have tie-ups with MSOs. The channel is planning to go pay. As a free-to-air channel, we have the highest TRP,” he said.
Sanskara, another devotional channel beamed from the Thaicom-3 satellite that competes with Aastha for viewership, is already being shown in 53 countries including the US via global beam.
Mr Tarun Chopra, regional manager of Sanskara here said that viewers of sports, news and spiritual channels were very loyal, unlike those of entertainment or movie channels.
(Craigs comment, The global Thaicom beam dosn't reach into the U.S it has to come off some other satellite maybe one of the Euro ones)
TV Advertising In India, China Poised For Fastest Growth
From http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=11754
New Delhi: India and China will be among the fastest growing television advertising markets in the Asia-Pacific region in the next four to five years, according to the Global Entertainment and Media Outlook survey released by PricewaterhouseCoopers recently.
Although the underlying market will remain weak in 2002-2003, China and India will be an exception, the PwC report states.
Also, it adds that the ongoing FIFA World Cup tournament will augment TV advertising. However, recent reports have indicated that World Cup advertising has been somewhat affected with many of the top soccer teams being forced out of the tournament in the early stages.
Incidentally, advertising losses after Sydney Olympics 2000 was partly responsible for Australia registering a drop of 8.7 per cent in advertising in 2001.
But overall, the PwC study projects that TV advertising in Asia-Pacific would increase from $30 billion in 2001 to nearly $37 billion in 2006. Despite a weak market till 2003, an economic rebound is expected to fuel larger increases over the remaining period in the forecast period, it adds.
Japan, which is the Asia-Pacific’s dominant market, is expected to post low single-digit increases, while India and China may record average increases in double digits, according to the survey. TV advertising in India, which is pegged at $800 million now, would increase to $1,240 million by 2006, it states.
This study links innovative programming with higher viewership and increased advertising.
In a development that promises to promote local production and help realise the revenue potential of successful shows, countries are opening up their markets to formats from other countries, the study says.
And we have plenty of examples in India of this, from ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati (Who Wants To Be a Millionaire) to ‘Kamzor Kari Kaun (The Weakest Link).
As a point in case, the PwC report cites opening up of the Chinese television market as a way to boost revenues. China is beginning to open up its television market to international programming, attracting more advertisers, it adds.
Multichannel penetration of programmes is another focus point of this study.
Although advertising generated by multichannel programmes accounts for only 6 per cent of the total TV ads in 2001, PwC forecasts that the expanding marketplace will drive multichannel advertising to a 17.6 per cent compound annual growth over the next five years.
Significantly, multichannel broadcasting is expected to be a major source of growth in India too.
Although local economic conditions and television marketplace developments will determine much of the future of TV advertising in the region, it’s likely to follow a pattern of weakness in 2002 and 2003, a pickup in 2004 and healthy increases in 2005 and 2006.
Bored Italians want more ads on TV
From http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_ID=13851735
ROME: Italian television could never be accused of being highbrow, but it's apparently become so tacky that most Italians would rather watch adverts, according to a new survey.
Almost two-thirds of Italians say adverts "are among the most entertaining things on TV" and a third say they would be "sad" if there were no adverts, a survey of 980 viewers aged between 25 and 55 showed.
The survey was conducted on behalf of media group Starcom MediaVest at the annual Cannes festival of advertising.
Respondents said adverts did much more than regular programming to create TV personalities and excitement, particularly those commercials that develop a story over time.
(Craigs comment, perhaps Tarb's should add some Italaian advert channels!)
T S I C H A N N E L N E W S - Number 24/2002 16 June 2002 -
A weekly roundup of global TV news sponsored by TELE-satellite International
Editor: Branislav Pekic
AUSTRALIA
SINGTEL CLAIMS FOXTEL DEAL SECURES PAY-TV FUTURE
SingTel Optus, the Australian arm of Singapore Telecommunications Ltd.,
said on June 12 its planned deal with rival Foxtel will secure the future
of pay-TV services in Australia. Optus Chief Executive Chris Anderson said
the proposed deal with Foxtel, whereby SingTel Optus plans to air Foxtel
content, will help stem burgeoning losses in the industry. Foxtel is 50%-owned
by Telstra Corp., with News Corp. and Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd. each
holding 25% stakes. The issue is being examined by the Australian Competition
& Consumer Commission, which can veto the deal if it deems it anticompetitive.
"The proposed content deal between Optus and Foxtel will also help secure
the future of a reasonably small but important part of Optus' business,"
Anderson said, in reference to the pay-TV business. Optus Television, which
runs Optus' pay-TV services, has incurred heavy losses mainly due to high
fixed programming costs, as had Foxtel and rural pay-TV broadcaster Austar
United Communications Ltd. Moreover, he added that the future of Optus'
telephony and Internet services hinges on the success of its pay-TV service
because they are all bundled together.
CHINA - HONG KONG
PHOENIX CHAIRMAN TO INCREASE ATV STAKE
Phoenix TV chairman Liu Changle has taken control of free-to-air broadcaster,
Asia Television (ATV). A company controlled by Mr Liu has acquired 46 per
cent of the TV station from a joint venture in which he was also a shareholder.
However, the move still faces regulatory hurdles, including ownership and
residency qualifications. The transaction means Mr Liu has bought out his
former joint-venture partner and ATV chief executive Feng Xiaoping. Mr Feng
will be replaced as chief executive by Mr Liu?s business partner Chan Wing-kee,
a 6.7 per cent shareholder in Today's Asia, which bought the ATV stake for
an unspecified amount in cash and shares. Mr Liu owns the other 93.3 per
cent. Today's Asia owns 37.6 per cent of Phoenix TV, which is also part-owned
by News Corp. Dragon Viceroy - the joint venture between Mr Liu and Mr Feng
- took control of ATV from Hong Kong media tycoon Lim Por-yen in April,
1998.
CHANNEL V MOVES PRODUCTION BASE
Star TV-backed music service Channel [V] International will move its production
base from Hong Kong to Malaysia later this year. The company said that Malaysia
is a key market for Channel [V] International, one of seven channels under
the Channel [V] brand. All the others, which focus on China, Taiwan, India,
South Korea, Thailand and Australia, are already locally produced, while
the parent company is based in Hong Kong.
TAIWAN
ERA DIGITAL MEDIA LAUNCHES IDTV PLATFORM
Era Digital Media has unveiled its flagship - the multimedia IDTV (intelligent
digital television) platform. IDTV combines digital broadcasting, broadband
transmission, Internet web casting and satellite/cable to provide a real-time
interactive platform for access to news, entertainment and sports programming.
The service is designed for use by Taiwanese homes as cable operators digitise
the domestic cable network that serves nearly 80 per cent of homes on the
island. It may also put pressure on the government to allow cable operators
to increase the officially imposed ceiling on subscriber fees because of
the extra revenue generated by IDTV. Era Digital Media said that included
in the package is access to services such as TechTV, BBC World, Fashion
TV, Bloomberg TV, the Weather Channel, TVBS-N and movies. Other planned
services include Eranews and CNN-fn.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
IRDETO GETS TAJ TV CONTRACT
Irdeto Access has concluded a licence agreement with Taj Television for
delivery of its content protection system Irdeto M-Crypt. Taj Television,
a UAE based TV services and content provider, went live on air April 1 with
Ten Sports, an exclusive 24 hour sports entertainment channel tailor-made
for the Indian subcontinent. Irdeto M-Crypt, a compact conditional access
system developed by Irdeto Access, provides Taj Television with advanced
encryption capabilities and enables the company to securely and directly
deliver Ten Sports to authorised customers while managing access to that
content. The system is installed in Dubai, UAE. Ten Sports reaches audiences
in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and the Maldives. Apart
from live and classic cricket, the channel broadcasts the 2002 FIFA World
Cup and other popular sporting events including British Open Golf, Manchester
United Football and Formula 1 racing.
23/06/02
NO update
22/06/02
I spent a bit of time lastnight looking around at internet tv video streams, seems to be a big improvement, I noted several streams at 500k! and even 1 at 750k! a pity flatrate broadband is not common in Australia and NZ otherwise watching tv through the net could become a real option. Anyway a noted a few that are available via satellite such as TVRI now have video streams, I will have to look around and addd some more video links on the satellite pages.
Internet TV streams, try www.tv4all.com
Looking for info about the Foxtel situation? http://www.auspaytv.com/news/
From my Emails & ICQ
From Wendy
Hello Suttonc,
May you give me Freq & SR RCTI for W-Cup2002 to latest update
(06'21'2002)...???the latest freq 03752 and SR 04009 but i need for the latest update 06/21/02.
Tank's Before.
Best regards,
Wendy
(Craigs comment does anyone have the latest World Cup soccer feed freq? for RCTI on Palapa C2?)
From the Dish
Lyngsat hasn't shown up yet, never mind the info will go up Monday.
Pas 8 166E 3860 H "MTV Taiwan" added to the Taiwanese mux (Sr 28000 Fec 5/6)
NEWS
Foxtel to fight for merger
From http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,4557398%255E2,00.html
PAY-TV group Foxtel will step up its push to help new pay-TV companies use its services in a bid to win competition approval for its $1.3 billion content-sharing deal with rival Optus.
Foxtel and Optus are convinced they can address the competition concerns arising from their program-sharing bid, after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission yesterday knocked back the proposal.
Despite the finding, ACCC chairman Allan Fels left the door open for approval, saying his mind was "quite open" on whether an acceptable deal could be put together by Optus and the Foxtel partners, including Telstra, News Limited (publisher of The Weekend Australian) and Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd.
The big media companies lobbied to win approval for the deal, which they say is crucial to stem big losses in pay-TV. Foxtel says it will not proceed with digitisation -- which could offer consumers up to 100 extra channels -- until the business becomes profitable.
Professor Fels said the parties would come back to the ACCC within a fortnight, with undertakings to address the commission's four main concerns.
Foxtel chief executive Kim Williams said the company would respond constructively to the ACCC's concerns.
He told The Weekend Australian a central issue was a "transparent and enforceable" access regime for analog and digital pay-TV.
"It cannot be emphasised sufficiently how comprehensive a countervailing measure access is," Mr Williams said.
Professor Fels would not comment on whether the competition issues could be fixed. "I wouldn't like to prejudge that question because we haven't seen what they're willing to offer," he said.
But Mr Williams said a presentation to the ACCC in two weeks would focus on access.
He said it was imperative to stop the huge losses in subscription television and achieve an outcome that was commercially workable and acceptable to the ACCC.
Optus was also upbeat, and chief operating officer Paul O'Sullivan said the preliminary finding was a typical stage in the ACCC process.
Professor Fels said Telstra's involvement made the deal more difficult, but backed away from any suggestion its 50 per cent share of Foxtel was a deal-breaker.
"That is an undecided question at this stage," he said. "We have simply put on the table the obvious -- that their role in Foxtel creates significant additional competition issues."
Communications Minister Richard Alston said it was important for the parties to address the ACCC's competition issues "as soon as possible".
Watchdog unplugs Foxtel deal
From http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/06/21/1023864500662.html
Foxtel's plans to remodel Australia's pay television landscape suffered a setback yesterday when the competition watchdog handed down one of its most controversial verdicts blocking a proposed programming accord with Optus.
After nearly four months of deliberations, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission rejected the proposal in its present form on the grounds that it was anti-competitive and would disadvantage rival content suppliers.
However, ACCC chairman Allan Fels has yet to sound the death knell for the transaction and indicated it still had a chance of succeeding.
"Our mind is is quite open on whether or not we get it up," Professor Fels said.
Foxtel and Optus said they were confident the decision was just a regulatory hitch and that the content-sharing arrangement could still gain approval.
"We don't think they have made a final judgment - it needs some additional components in it if it is to meet any approval," said Foxtel chief executive Kim Williams.
Optus' chief operating officer, Paul O'Sullivan, said the alliance would improve its competitive strength and predicted it would be approved within a month.
The federal Communications Minister, Richard Alston, maintained that consumers would benefit from pay TV content consolidation because of improved access to a wider range of programming. The ACCC is finalising an industry report for the Federal Government, which has been in talks with the pay TV operators about digitisation for some months.
Foxtel's shareholders - Telstra (50 per cent), News Corporation (25 per cent) and Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd (25 per cent) - and Optus decided against fighting the decision in court or abandoning it. They plan to sweeten the deal to meet any regulatory concerns.
These are likely to include a commitment to the $500 million conversion to digital, to ensure there is competition from other content providers because of capacity constraints in the Foxtel analog network.
The undertakings, which will be made available to relevant industry participants, will also clarify issues relating to access to the Telstra cable network.
Media groups such as John Fairfax Holdings, the Seven Network and Neighbourhood Cable, which have lobbied against a content merger, applauded the ACCC ruling.
Foxtel and Optus held preliminary talks with the ACCC yesterday and plan to produce a set of legally enforceable undertakings within weeks to ease the regulator's concerns.
Professor Fels said the transaction in its present form had wide implications for the media, telephony and broadband sectors, which the ACCC consulted during its investigations.
Under the deal, Foxtel would buy $900 million of capacity on the Optus digital satellite and assume the $619 million of Optus programming contracts with Hollywood studios.
It is designed to provide Telstra with the firepower to renegotiate the costly contracts by increasing the number of subscribers. The studios are believed to be considering a 20 per cent reduction in exchange for another long-term deal to supply movies.
The ACCC noted four key areas where it felt the deal breached the Trade Practices Act, the first being Foxtel's competitive strength in content price-setting. Other areas of concern related to third-party access to Foxtel's channel distribution and the potentially anti-competitive effect of creating a programming monopoly.
It also raised the spectre of Telstra's 50 per cent ownership of Foxtel, saying this could potentially fuel the carrier's dominance in the telephony and broadband markets.
The programming transaction is predicated on Telstra being able to bundle the pay TV service with telephony and broadband to adequately compete with Optus.
The ACCC has yet to formally tackle this issue as Telstra is awaiting the outcome of the content merger before it makes a submission.
Optus contemplates lost vision
From http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/06/21/1023864500665.html
The future of Optus hangs in the balance after the proposed content-sharing agreement hit a regulatory wall yesterday.
The nation's second-ranked carrier has its fingers crossed that Foxtel can amend the deal to win the approval of Australia's corporate regulator.
Optus had threatened to shut down its pay TV and local telephony business, said to be losing about $350 million a year, if the deal was rejected.
But Optus chief operating officer Paul O'Sullivan said he believed any obstacles could be overcome because a programming merger would increase rather than reduce competition in the industry.
"The commission has narrowed down its concerns to a fairly finite list, and when we look at those we can assure it will make us a stronger competitor and will improve competition," he said.
But Mr O'Sullivan hinted that Optus' commitment to the local telephony business hinged on a positive ruling.
"In the unlikely event it doesn't go through, it means Optus is not going to be as strong and viable a competitor as it could have been and we would have to look at our options in that situation," he said.
"You'd have to say, what alternatives are there in order for us to compete, and I wouldn't rule anything in or out in terms of that."
Media executives who are opposed to the deal dismissed the threat as a negotiating tactic, but some analysts said they thought it was a reality.
"This certainly throws into doubt the whole pay TV business for Optus and its sustainability," a telecommunications analyst said.
The analyst said he believed the business would be put under "care and maintenance" if the deal was knocked back.
Under this scenario, he said, parent company Singapore Telecommunications would cut costs from all elements of the business, including sales and marketing.
But this would not solve the problem of the onerous programming liabilities that are locked in for the next few years.
The analyst said that to abandon the business now would be unpalatable because of contract commitments with Hollywood Studios, and he thought SingTel would be forced to delay this decision.
Asian ISPs eye 40G bps satellite
From http://idg.net/ic_877768_1773_1-3921.html
A new satellite to be launched towards the end of next year to carry Internet traffic can offer bandwidth at just 10 percent of the cost of conventional satellite systems, Thai company Shin Satellite PLC said recently at the CommunicAsia show.
The Ipstar broadband satellite will deliver 40G bps (bits per second) of capacity from its position in geosynchronous orbit, using new antenna designs to enable multiple beams for the increased capacity, around 20 times that of previous satellites, Shin executives said at the show. Shin expects its customers will mainly be ISPs (Internet service providers) who will resell Internet access to companies, public facilities such as airports and multiple-occupancy residential buildings.
The Ipstar system will offer dedicated Internet access at up to 512K bps download and 128K bps upload. Shared access can reach 2M bps download and 512K bps upload, Shin said.
Shin has already signed contracts to deploy Ipstar services with Malaysian company BayCom Sdn. Bhd., Shanghai VSAT Network Systems Co., Ltd in China, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd.(VSNL) in India and Thai companies SiamSat and Samart Telcom. The National Education Network of Thailand has signed an agreement to use Ipstar technology to connect 40,000 schools nationwide by 2005, Shin said. Ipstar will also support VPNs (virtual private networks), videoconferencing and voice traffic, the company said.
Several developing countries in Asia have signaled their intent to extend Internet access to all their citizens, including those living in remote or mountainous areas. Often, these plans have been delayed by the high cost of providing cable links, especially in countries such as Indonesia or the Philippines which encompass several thousand islands.
Last month, Shin signed a deal with Myanmar's Bagan Cybertech IDC & Teleport, which will deploy an Ipstar system to provide rural telephony services to 3,000 villages. This system will use an already-launched satellite and begin service in the fourth-quarter of this year, Shin said.
The satellite will be launched by Arianespace from its launch site in Kourou, French Guiana, in late 2003, with service via the satellite expected to begin in early 2004.
Sattel aims high with iPSTAR launch
From http://hoovnews.hoovers.com
SHIN Satellite (Sattel), the country's sole commercial satellite operator, is set to become a global leader in broadband telecommunications after its new satellite iPSTAR is put in orbit next year.
"The satellite-based Internet services is the latest in advanced communications technology and will bring huge revenue growth for Shin Satellite," Sattel vice president Yongsit Rojsrivichaikul told Business Day.
Last year, Shin Satellite posted profit of one billion baht on revenue of four billion baht.
The iPSTAR project is financed through loans from Citibank and BNP Paribas, guaranteed by the US Export Import Bank, and France's Coface Group of Finance.
The new US$350 million iPSTAR will provide high-speed data transmission for Internet, remote learning, multimedia applications, teleconferencing, remote medical services, and internal communications equipments.
The new satellite can also provide a variety of entertainment services for subscriber-based television, interactive television, pay-per-view movies, video on demand, and interactive games, said Yongsit. also to households, the company is hoping for a 10-fold revenue growth in the years ahead, with iPSTAR being the mainstay of future income," said Yongsit.
The service will be available in more than 120 countries in Asia, Europe, Australia and Africa, said Yongsit adding that Shin Satellite would start providing services in Malaysia by June 2003, China and India by August 2003, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and the Philippines by around November 2003.
To be ready after the launch of iPSTAR into orbit, Shin Satellite is working hard with its foreign partners to explore suitable sites in the region at which ground sites comprising gateways, and user terminals, could be installed simultaneously to enable regional subscribers to access iPSTAR's Internet services.
"We have to ensure that the main ground sites have been completely installed at various points around the region before sending iPSTAR into the orbit," said Yongsit.
The firm and its strategic partners have been installing ground devices at various sites since 2001 and are now in the process of testing transponder capacity and correcting software glitches, he said.
BBC News 24 claims ratings victory over Sky News
From http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,741039,00.html
For the first time BBC News 24 has overtaken Sky News as the most watched 24-hour news service, intensifying the rivalry between the BBC's Gavin Esler, Philip Hayton and Jane Hill and Sky stalwarts Kay Burley and Adam Boulton.
The viewing figures show that News 24, which costs licence fee payers up to £50m a year and has struggled for five years to be accepted, has finally come of age.
Although the gap between the channels remains small, overtaking its rival is a huge psychological victory for News 24, which has been playing catch up with Sky News ever since it launched in November 1997.
According to research from Barb, 3.8 million viewers tuned in to News 24 each week during April and May, putting it marginally ahead of Sky News, which had 3.7 million.
The figures come at an opportune time for the BBC. News 24 is currently under review after the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, ordered an investigation into whether a 24 hour news operation from the BBC was in the public interest.
News 24 was a top priority for the former director general, John Birt, who hated to see Sky beating the BBC in its heartland of news and current affairs.
The service has been constantly derided by BBC insiders and external critics.
The commercial news channels, particularly Sky News, have long accused the BBC of abusing its position by spending public money on a 24 hour news channel when several alternatives already exist in the market.
"These figures represent a massive endorsement of News 24's distinctive programming," said the BBC's head of television news, Roger Mosey.
"No other channel can match the quality, range and depth of our output and viewers are turning to News 24 in increasing numbers," he added.
The two rival channels have been locked in a bitter supremacy battle for years. Sky News - which this year picked up a Bafta for its September 11 coverage - is generally considered to be in the ascendancy.
However, the BBC has also overtaken Sky News in the monthly viewing figures. According to Barb, the average monthly reach for News 24 was 7.7 million in May, compared with 7.3 million for Sky News.
Sky dismissed the BBC's claims, pointing out News 24 was available across all digital platforms, while Sky News was only available on satellite and cable.
On digital satellite, where the two platforms go head to head, Sky News beats News 24 by two viewers to one.
Sky also claimed that, in a reversal of the BBC's traditional role, more viewers turn to the Sky service for major news stories.
For example, on September 11, twice as many people watched Sky News. On the day of the Concorde crash, Sky News had three times as many viewers as News 24.
In terms of the total share of viewing in all multichannel homes, Sky News still holds a slight lead, claiming a 0.7% share of total viewing in May compared with News 24's 0.6% share.
(Craigs comment, it would be good to see this one in our skys sure to have less hype than Foxnews)
China-Based Satellite Broadcaster Expands Service With Harmonic's Digital Headend Systems
From satnewsdaily
Harmonic Inc. (Nasdaq:HLIT) today announced that it has completed an expansion of the headend facility for China Broadcasting Film Television Satelli