From http://www.pretorianews.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=5388233

The Film and Publication Board yesterday welcomed Multichoice's decision not to launch a porn channel, echoing other sentiment that this was in the best interests of children.

"This is a victory for the children's right movement as well as for the general public," chief executive officer Yoliswa Makhasi said. There was little doubt that children's exposure to pornographic material may be considered a form of sexual abuse, she said.

The board had opposed Multichoice's porn channel proposal on the grounds that the Film and Publication Amendment Act, 2009 prohibited the distribution and broadcast of hardcore pornography on public platforms.

"Films of this nature should only be distributed in licensed adult shops... or through other suitable channels as regulated by the board," said Makhasi.

The proposed porn channel had generated a storm of complaints from a number of religious, political and children's rights groups.

The board's reaction followed that of Solidarity Helping Hand, which also described the decision as a "victory" for children in South Africa.

"Helping Hand thanks the more than 47 000 South Africans who, to date, have stood up and said 'no' to pornography," executive director Dr Danie Langner said.

"The victory shows that every South African has a voice and can take a stand against decisions that promote the moral decay of our country.

"South Africans will not simply go along with decisions that may have harmful consequences."

Deputy Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba said yesterday that the satellite television service's contemplation of a 24-hour porn channel was "inconceivable", risking children to unnecessary exposure.

On Thursday, MultiChoice said the idea for a 24-hour porn channel had been disbanded.

Chief executive officer Nolo Letele said research indicated that a significant number of subscribers was against adult channels.

MultiChoice announced last month that it was conducting research on the idea of launching a porn channel.

The announcement of the porn channel-related survey sparked objections from some organisations and prompted Solidarity to launch a campaign in which the public voted against the launch of such a channel on DSTV.

By Wednesday 41 381 South Africans had already voted "no" to the channel in Solidarity's campaign.

"It was unfortunate that the research conducted was misinterpreted by some people to mean that a decision had been made to introduce an adult channel on our bouquets," Letele said.

Essel suspends ops for satellite cable platform

Owing to high entry fees, absence of a favourable tariff plan and restrictions on the use of DTH infrastructure, the company may soon surrender its bandwidth and transponder capacity to the government.

HITS is a new satellite-based cable distribution platform approved recently by the Cabinet to encourage digitalisation of 80 million analogue cable homes using the satellite.Several large cable firms, betting big on HITS, are hoping to attract foreign investors.

Exit of Essel Group from HITS may come as a big blow to I&B ministry, which has promoted HITS as a solution and a possible alternate to the controversial Conditional Access System for bringing in transparency and digitalisation in the Rs 30,000-crore cable industry.

Dr Kelly made representation to the Minister for Communications Senator the Hon Stephen Conroy and received a reply that no action is to be taken.

The Minister responded with a long letter stating that "there are currently no plans to improve the reach of the ABC radio services to the Braidwood area. As you may be aware, national broadcaster related service extensions or enhancements are dependent on the availability of suitable spectrum capacity and the provision of appropriate additional funding for the proposed service extension.

Funding for such works would generally need to be considered by the Australian Government in the Budget context and in light of competing national broadcaster related priorities."

The letter went on to explain the reasons for bad reception and several methods of improving reception including; an external antenna available from an antenna or electric retailer, obtaining access to the ABC services via direct-to-home satellite, the internet or self-help retransmission.

For satellite, "the necessary equipment (a satellite receiver dish, and integrated receiver decoder and smart card) would cost in the vicinity of $1,000 to $1,800, depending on the size of the dish required and the household location.

For Internet, the ABC has advised the Braidwood Times separately that the download of radio is around 56mb per hour, which would cost differing amounts depending on ISP plans.

"Another option is to establish self-help transmitters to broadcast ABC Radio services to Braidwood. Under the self-help arrangements community groups or local councils purchase and maintain the equipment necessary to receive and locally retransmit the broadcasting service (radio or television) from either a nearby terrestrial transmitter or a satellite.

Self-help is an option if there is community interest in establishing a service and inc covering the costs associated with the ongoing and maintenance of the facility. There are currently no Government programs that provide funding assistance for the establishment or operational costs of ABC self-help radio services."

"The Braidwood community radio station 2BRW broadcasts from Mt Gillamatong. Miss Galiazzo may wish to contact his community group to discuss whether it may be feasible to add an ABC Radio service to that site, on a self-help basis. This may reduce the capital costs involved in establishing a self-help service in Braidwood."

KidsCo, open for business

From http://www.encoremagazine.com.au/kidsco-open-for-business-1472

Harvey Shore spoke with Paul Robinson, the London-based founder and managing director of global children’s’ pay-TV channel KidsCo, who is gearing up for his second trip to Australia for the ASTRA Conference.

Last trip, in November 2009, he raised eyebrows by joining those who accused ABC-TV of bullying producers and competitive channels in its rush to lock up both free-TV and pay-TV rights to programs for its new children’s channel ABC3. Robinson said, “All they’re really doing is using public money to increase the price of acquired programming. It’s outrageous.”

This trip, he’s coming to join a panel of powerbrokers at a breakout session during the annual ASTRA Conference in March. At least that’s the cover story. The hidden agenda (and it’s not that well hidden) is to do a little smooching with Kim Williams and his cronies at Foxtel (who added KidsCo to their line-up last November), and to keep faith with a promise he made on that earlier trip – to develop an Australian co-production within 12-18 months of KidsCo’s November launch.

Robinson (who has 30 years experience in the industry) readily admits he hasn’t yet seen the Australian co-prod he’s looking for, and says finding popular kids’ programs for a global market is a slow and risky business. “In any one year, we may look at 120 program proposals worldwide. We’ll fund perhaps 20 of those to pilot stage. Maybe four will get commissioned for an initial series. Only one or two will become hits and get re-signed.”

“Australia is our 60th territory, and it has a special appeal to KidsCo because my global program director Eileen McCarthy is an Australian. She’s been with me since I founded KidsCo in 2007. She and I are both keen to add home-grown Australian content to KidsCo’s Australian feed. We have a commissioning budget which is 10 percent of our total programming spend; and we’ve already bought in some local productions that have aired earlier on free-TV.  For example, Snake Tales – a 13 x half hour live action family comedy starring Kath & Kim’s Peter Rowsthorn and Stupid, Stupid Man’s Leah Vandenberg, which is about a larger than life snake wrangler who dreams of the glory days when he had his own TV spot and visitors flocked to his Outback Snake-Atorium-Orama in the town of Barren Barren; and Misery Guts, an animated 13 x half hour series by Morris Gleitzman. That gives you some idea of the style we’re looking for.

“Our message to Australian producers is that we are keen to screen local programs, we are prepared to get involved in co-pros, we have the budget for it, and I’m keen to talk with as many local producers and creative ideas people as possible while I’m in Australia. KidsCo hasn’t closed any co-pro deals in Australia yet, although we’ve had talks with three local producers. So the field is still wide open.”

“What we’re looking for is something iconic for Australian audiences, which will also work around the world. We are primarily keen on animation, but will look at live action. It must of course be suitable for the six to ten year old audience. And it should have these ingredients: great storytelling, great characters, a competitive price, a duration of 11 to 22 minutes per episode, and ideally 13 episodes or more in the proposed series. Most importantly, it’s got to have real appeal – and real legs, so it lasts for several years. At this stage I haven’t seen a proposal with all those ingredients, so the opportunities for scoring a co-pro with KidsCo are still wide-open.”

Robinson says he’ll be in Australia for ten days around the date of the ASTRA Conference (18th March), so he can meet with as many interested Australian producers as possible. “We tend to be very open and honest with those who want to work with us. We give quick answers, and we’re very friendly and supportive. So I encourage Australians with ideas for exciting new kids’ TV series to get in touch and arrange a meeting. If you’ve got that magic story, we’ve got the opportunity for you to realise it on a world stage!”

HorseTalk TV Goes International

ICASA explains delays with local IPTV rollout

Although a number of local stakeholders have expressed interest in offering IPTV services on a large scale the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has explained that the delay in the roll out of these services is due to a lack of sufficient broadband uptake and infrastructure.

In a recently published discussion document on the regulation of IPTV within South Africa the regulator detailed the obstacles faced by developing countries in rolling out broadband based video services.

Within the document ICASA defines IPTV as “television content that is delivered through computer networks using the IP protocol. IPTV is offered over closed content distribution networks where the network operator controls the technical parameters of the operation”.

In simple terms this means content which is delivered to the user over a closed network which uses a broadband connection for the delivery of video services.

Local IPTV delay

According to ICASA “the delay of IPTV services in developing countries is usually due to the minimal uptake of broadband services, limiting the entry into the market by telecoms providers”.

In many developed countries telecoms providers are known to offer subscribers triple play services (voice, video and data) through existing fixed data networks.

According to ICASA one of the catalysts for the growth of IPTV services in developed countries is local loop unbundling (LLU) which is the regulatory process of allowing other telecoms players to use the incumbent’s (Telkom in South Africa) last mile copper infrastructure.

Currently the regulator is maintaining that this will be achieved by its November 2011 deadline.

Regulation

Although ICASA has not yet committed to a date by which regulation for local IPTV services will be finalised the publication of discussion documents suggests that the process is underway.

The regulator has however confirmed that these regulations will chiefly focus on the issue of content provided through IPTV networks and the distinction between IPTV and Internet broadcasting.

Potential players

MultiChoice confirmed in mid 2009 that it had developed an IPTV solution which will be rolled out in gated communities and other areas with existing high speed connections.

The MultiChoice IPTV system uses a standard DStv satellite stream which is then converted to an Internet Protocol (IP) based service using a DVB over IP converter.  This IP stream is then sent to end users over a high speed IP network.

Upon announcement MutliChoice CTO Gerdus van Eeden said that the technology is ready to also serve the wider population, but that South Africa’s low broadband speeds and restrictive monthly usage limits are not suitable for true IPTV services.  True IPTV requires consistent speeds in the region of 10 Mbps.

Incoming pay TV competitors On Digital Media and Super5Media have also expressed interest in offering IPTV services on a broad scale.

Google, Dish Network test TV search service: Report

From http://beta.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/article222962.ece

Television New Zealand is planning a new channel of repeats to be shown exclusively on pay television. Production industry sources said the new channel would be part of the basic Sky package.

TVNZ Heartland, to be unveiled soon, will join TVNZ 6 and TVNZ 7, which started on Sky last year. But it will not be on Freeview.

It is expected to include repeats of programmes for which TVNZ holds intellectual property rights, including dramas, comedies and reality shows.

TVNZ did not return calls and Sky chief executive John Fellet could not be reached for comment.

But a production industry source compared the content with Sky-owned channels Vibe or The Box which are part of the basic Sky package.

Sky, which introduces new channels each year to encourage subscriptions, has approved a new travel channel.

Freeview general manager Sam Irvine said a MediaWorks digital channel would start in June but there was no new channel coming from TVNZ.

TVNZ has been negotiating the future of TVNZ 6 and TVNZ 7 with the Government. It has been supplying them with $79 million of taxpayer funding over five years on shows such as The Gravy, Media 7 and The Ad Show.

That deal, which is based on an agreement that TVNZ does not run advertising, is due to run out in 2011.

It is not clear whether the no-ads rule will apply to the new channel.

TVNZ is expecting a decision from the Government on future funding in the next three months.

Meanwhile, the state broadcaster is planning another round of staff and programming cuts to save $40 million and counter the loss of advertising.

Mediaquest earmarking P700m for satellite TV

From http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideBusiness.htm?f=2010/march/5/business2.isx&d=2010/march/5

Mediaquest Holdings Inc., the media unit of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., is allotting around P700 million in capital expenditure for its satellite TV business this year to increase its subscriber base to 200,000.

Cignal Digital TV, Mediaquest’s direct-to-home satellite television service ended 2009 with 45,000 subscribers nationwide after barely five months of operations from its official launch in July last year.

Mediaquest director Ray Espinosa said the company expects the number of Cignal users to surge this year following the success of its satellite TV business.

He said Mediaquest was earmarking P700 million this year, or the same as last year’s, to acquire set top boxes and additional infrastructure.

“The take-up is very good,” he said.

Cignal, which comes in Cignal HD (high definition) and Cignal Digital TV, was the latest subscription-based direct-to-home satellite television service provider using the NSS-11 satellite of New Skies Satellite.

Cignal has been on a test broadcast since January 2009 in Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite and Laguna, where 3,000 subscribers had signed up.

Espinosa said Cignal was not competing with cable TV companies as the satellite TV service aimed to serve remote areas.

The Cignal Basic package, with 20 standard definition channels, is available for a one-time fee of P4,700 for set top box, satellite dish and cables and Cignal card, an installation fee of P1,000 and a monthly service charge of P390.

The 20 standard definition channels on the Cignal Basic package include crystal-clear access to free-to-air local channels ABS-CBN 2, TV5, NBN 4, GMA, CS9, QTV, IBC 13, Studio 23, 2nd Avenue, Etc, and Net 25, and premium channels HBO, Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, CNN, PBO, Viva Cinema, AXN, and BIO. RHTV (dzRH Television) is also on the list.

Radio channels from the FM band are also available to Cignal Digital TV subscribers.

Cignal Combo, which has three high-definition channels plus the Cignal Basic, is available for a one-time fee of P4,800, an installation fee of P1,000, and a monthly service fee of P790.

Cignal HD offers three high-definition channels—Voom, History Channel and Playhouse Disney.

NASA launches nation's newest weather satellite

From http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iUv6wYIcBmvQAuwHMTZ3d7zAfIcgD9E84LRG4

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA has launched the nation's newest weather satellite.

An unmanned rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral Thursday evening, carrying a $500 million GOES satellite.

The spacecraft will undergo testing for the next six months and will eventually be an orbiting spare in the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite network. The satellites are operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

They provide vital images of hurricanes and other storms that threaten the United States. Meteorologists say they couldn't track storms or issue the proper warnings without them.

The new satellite is GOES-P. It will become GOES-15 once it reaches the proper orbit.

Court Upholds TiVo's DVR Patent Against Satellite Rivals

From http://www.sci-tech-today.com/news/Court-Upholds-TiVo-DVR-Ruling/story.xhtml?story_id=010001804GRE

The U.S. Court of Appeals has agreed that satellite operators Dish Network and EchoStar are still infringing TiVo's DVR patent. The court told Dish and EchoStar to stop offering DVR services, but both plan to appeal. TiVo expects damages to exceed $300 million. An analyst said the ruling assures TiVo's long-term survival. 

 TiVo on Thursday won a U.S. Court of Appeals ruling against major satellite operators in a long-standing intellectual-property battle. The court ruled that Dish Network and EchoStar still infringe on TiVo's patent and should stop offering DVR services.

The appeals court upheld a lower court's ruling that the satellite broadcasters are violating TiVo's patent despite their claims that they had altered their technology sufficiently. In a 2-1 decision, the court said changes made after Dish lost the first trial were "not a major redesign of the software."

$300 Million in Damages

TiVo said it was pleased that the appeals court affirmed the district court's finding of contempt against EchoStar, including both the disablement and infringement provisions.

"This ruling paves the way for TiVo to receive the approximately $300 million in damages and contempt sanctions awarded to us for EchoStar's continued infringement through July 1, 2009," TiVo said. "We will also seek further damages and contempt sanctions for the period of continued infringement thereafter. We will continue our efforts to protect our intellectual property from further infringement."

Defending TiVo's IP in court is vital to the company, according to Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. "This ruling reaffirms TiVo's market position and assures its technology, which is important for any company," he said. "Given how widespread this DVR capability is, it's particularly important to TiVo."

"Given EchoStar's refusal to disable the DVR functionality in its existing devices and the fact that its original attempts to design around TiVo's patent were wholly unsuccessful, the district court had ample justification for its determination that court preapproval of any new design-around effort was necessary to prevent future infringing activity," the appeals court said.

Another Appeal Looms

Dish and EchoStar aren't going down without a fight. The companies said they plan to ask the 12-member appeals court to rehear the case. "We also will be proposing a new design-around to the district court for approval," Dish and EchoStar said in a statement. "At this time, our DVR customers are not impacted."

As Enderle sees it, a problem still remains for TiVo: An ongoing and lengthy litigation process. Still, he noted, the ruling continues to reaffirm TiVo's intellectual property, which could be its strongest long-term asset. Enderle said the ruling is important to both TiVo's financial situation and its long-term survival.

"At long last TiVo is actually showing some potential upside," Enderle said. "TiVo's relationship with Comcast seems to be getting stronger, the new Premiere product looks very compelling, and this court ruling altogether puts TiVo in a much more solid position."

HDMI Group Ratifies 3D Broadcast Formats

From http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/449713-HDMI_Group_Ratifies_3D_Broadcast_Formats.php

Move should ensure interoperability between programming and sets

As expected, HDMI Licensing, the entity which licenses the High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) networking technology used to securely connect digital set-tops, optical-disc players and HDTV sets, has updated its most recent specification with a number of mandatory broadcast formats for 3D content.

HDMI has been working feverishly over the past six months to keep pace with television programmers' heightened interested in transmitting 3D content to the home. In December, it eased its licensing restrictions somewhat to allow new 3D HD sets with HDMI Version 1.4 connections to be backward-compatible with digital satellite and cable set-tops that use the older Version 1.3 HDMI specification. That paved the way for DirecTV to launch 3D HD content this year, simply by sending a firmware update to existing set-tops.

Last month, HDMI Licensing made the 3D part of its specification free for public download and identified a number of frame-compatible 3D formats as "informative formats" that could be used by networks to transmit 3D. Those formats have now been made official with the HDMI Specification Version 1.4a update, which means that set-makers have to support them going forward. HDMI had already identified mandatory 3D formats for Blu-ray movies and gaming content.

The new mandatory 3D broadcast formats include:

Side-by-Side Horizontal
1080i @ 50 or 59.94/60Hz

Top-and-Bottom
720p @ 50 or 59.94/60Hz
1080p @ 23.97/24Hz

According to HDMI Licensing, 3D displays must support all mandatory formats. Sources must support at least one mandatory format, while repeaters must be able to pass through all mandatory formats.

"We published these latest enhancements to support the market need for broadcast 3D content," said Steve Venuti, president of HDMI Licensing, in a statement. "When we launched 1.4 in June of 2009, we deferred the selection of mandatory 3D formats for broadcast content until the market direction was more clearly defined. The market has spoken and the HDMI Consortium has listened and responded to accommodate those market needs."

Orbital To Buy GD Satellite Business

From http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Orbital_To_Buy_GD_Satellite_Business_999.html

Orbital Sciences has reached a definitive agreement to acquire the spacecraft development and manufacturing business of General Dynamics subsidiary, GD Advanced Information Systems. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in approximately four weeks. Houlihan Lokey advised Orbital in conjunction with this transaction.

The acquisition will enhance Orbital's already-established position in the growing market for national security space systems, including spacecraft used in intelligence and surveillance, missile tracking, space situational awareness and other operational defense missions.

The combination will also substantially strengthen the company's capabilities to design and manufacture Earth science, weather and climate monitoring, and space-based astronomy satellite systems.

By adding advanced medium-class spacecraft platforms to Orbital's existing small-satellite product line, it is expected to significantly expand the company's opportunities to serve customers in the U.S. Department of Defense, intelligence community and civil government agencies such as NASA and NOAA.

"There is a compelling strategic fit between Orbital's current satellite business and the General Dynamics spacecraft unit in terms of the markets and customers we serve, the types of satellite platforms we design and build, and the highly skilled and experienced engineering, manufacturing and operations professionals we count on to make this possible," said Mr. David W. Thompson, Orbital's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "I am very excited to add the technological know-how and practical experience of the GD satellite team to our company," he added.

Over the last 20 years, General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems (including a predecessor company, Spectrum Astro, Inc.) has developed and built 15 small- and medium-class satellites for the U.S. Air Force, NASA, U.S. Navy, Missile Defense Agency (MDA), and other government and commercial customers.

These include such recently-launched spacecraft as the Fermi/GLAST astronomy satellite for NASA, the C/NOFS space weather satellite for the Air Force, the GeoEye-1 commercial imaging satellite for GeoEye, Inc., and the NFIRE experimental satellite for MDA. These satellites have typically ranged from 500 to 4,000 Kg in initial mass and have been designed for operational lifetimes of three to seven years in a variety of low-Earth orbits.

General Dynamics' spacecraft unit is located in Gilbert, Arizona, 10 miles from Orbital's launch vehicle engineering and manufacturing facilities in Chandler, where the company currently employs approximately 1,300 people. Upon closing of the acquisition, about 325 new employees will join Orbital, most of whom are engineers, technicians and program managers, many with security clearances for sensitive U.S. Government programs.

As part of the transaction, Orbital will also acquire a state-of-the-art 135,000 square foot space systems manufacturing, integration and test facility that is one of the most modern and capable in the world, providing additional satellite manufacturing capacity to accommodate Orbital's anticipated growth for many years to come. Completed in 2005, this facility includes specialized thermal-vacuum, acoustic, vibration, shock and electromagnetic testing chambers and equipment, together with government-certified security provisions for high-classification programs.

RRsat to Distribute the First High Definition Indian `Bollywood' Movie Channel

From http://www.marketwatch.com/story/rrsat-to-distribute-the-first-high-definition-indian-bollywood-movie-channel-2010-03-04?reflink=MW_news_stmp

JIUQUAN, Gansu Province, March 4 (Xinhua) -- China will launch a remote-sensing satellite, "Yaogan IX" in the coming days from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern Gansu Province, an official at the center said Thursday.

The satellite would be sent into space aboard a Long March 4C carrier rocket, the official said, without specifying the exact date.

Currently, the satellite and rocket are in good condition, according to the official.

Its predecessor, "Yaogan VIII," was launched from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern Shanxi Province in December.

Free-to-view channel rises from the ashes of GTV

He said the government should now tell the company what it wants it to do following the Supreme Court's verdict on the assets-seizure case of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

However, the company will seek a legal defence if the government demands anything that could negatively affect Thaicom's business.

The court ruled by a majority last Friday that Thaksin had exercised his authority for the benefit of Shin Corp businesses from Advanced Info Service (AIS) through to Shin Satellite, which is now called Thaicom.

As part of Thaksin's abuse of power, members of his Cabinet had allowed Thaicom to change the terms of the concession contract to launch the iPSTAR broadband satellite as the main satellite, rather than launching a back-up satellite for Thaicom 3 as promised in a contract.

Over the past week, the Information and Communications Technology Ministry plus state agencies TOT and CAT Telecom said they would use the court verdict as part of their examination of the concession amendments of AIS and Thaicom by their state concession owners - amendments that had affected the state coffers over the years.

In January this year, Thaicom also asked the ICT Ministry, which owns its concession, to consider extending the length of its satellite concession and reducing its concession fee. The ministry has yet to reply.

Arak wants the ministry to respond to these matters so that the company can prepare its business plan.

Thaicom owns the Thaicom 2 and 5 broadcasting satellites and the iPSTAR broadband satellite. Recently it de-orbited Thaicom 1, whose lifespan ended last year. Thaicom 2 will be decommissioned in about the middle of this year.

Shin, AIS and Thaicom yesterday each separately filed to the Stock Exchange of Thailand a common message that the Supreme Court's verdict on Thaksin's assets case was not binding on the companies.

Each said that as the verdict contained statements mentioning undertakings between state agencies and the companies and referring to their names, the three companies wished to clarify that they were not defendants in the matters judged by the court. The verdict is not, therefore, binding on them, they argued.

They added that since they had been operating with good faith in compliance with the law and terms and conditions of operating agreements and strictly under the group's extensive corporate governance policy, they were confident they could clarify the historical background, principles and rationale of their actions in respect of their dealings with the authorities.

3rd WGS Satellite Passes On-Orbit Tests

From http://spacefellowship.com/news/art18856/3rd-wgs-satellite-passes-on-orbit-tests.html

Boeing, WGS-3EL SEGUNDO, Calif., (Boeing) — Boeing [NYSE: BA] announced today that the U.S. Air Force accepted control of the third Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) military communications satellite on March 1, after the spacecraft passed several weeks of rigorous on-orbit tests.
WGS is the U.S. Department of Defense’s highest-capacity satellite communications system. WGS-3 completes the initial constellation of three spacecraft, which will provide broadband communications to every theater of operation around the world.
“Knowledge is power, especially on the battlefield, where the ability to quickly communicate large amounts of information can make a world of difference to mission success,” said Air Force Col. Don Robbins, WGS Group Commander. “With their wide bandwidth and high throughput, WGS satellites are game-changers that give our warfighters a distinct advantage.”

Boeing is building three more WGS satellites under Block II of its contract with the Air Force. The Block II satellites will include performance boosters such as a radio frequency bypass designed to support airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms requiring additional bandwidth.
“We’re working with the Air Force to develop cost-effective solutions to the crucial communications challenges facing U.S. warfighters, such as mobile communications, secure and jam-resistant communications, and enhanced support to advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations,” said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager, Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems. “We’re showing that future WGS satellites can be efficiently evolved to meet those challenges, and we have a proven, high-performing team of Air Force and Boeing personnel in place to make it happen.”

WGS-3 was launched on Dec. 5, 2009, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., aboard a Delta IV rocket. On-orbit testing demonstrated the functionality of WGS-3’s communications payload features by passing test signals through each of the satellite’s 19 antenna beams. The tests also verified WGS-3’s beam-steering functions.

Boeing employees conducted the tests at the company’s Mission Control Center in El Segundo, with support from Air Force and Army personnel at the center and at government facilities in central California. Air Force operations personnel at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado are conducting additional tests and moving WGS-3 into its operational position over the Atlantic Ocean. The satellite is expected to become operational this spring.
WGS-1 and WGS-2 are operating over the Pacific Ocean and the Middle East, respectively. WGS-4, -5 and -6 will be ready for launch in 2011 and 2012.

South African TV’s big overhaul