31/10/02

I posted on the site the other day that Hamara TV would be on Globecasts Adhoc service this is incorrect. I have had an email from Nikki at Hamara TV and she said all info about the service is on their website! Not good because anyone who has been there will see it doesn't even say which satellite its on or the settings for it. Do they want people to watch it or not?

Interesting NSS6 scheduled to go to 95E on the 27th of next month has been delayed until December. As you will see in the rumours section maybe C1 pushed forward in the launch schedule?

I have sent an email out to the people who hope to start NZ's Rural tv channel via Sky, no reply as yet but at least 1 of the 3 email addresses I had for them is no longer working.

Finally if any other little brat bangs on my door wanting lollys this evening then they will be getting some of grannys laxative chocolates. We don't need to encourage this rediculous American tradition in NZ or Australia.

Rumours

C1 to launch NOV 27th 2002???

From my Emails & ICQ

From PJW

G'day

I am live in bathurst, nsw, australia.

I am interesting about the russian news tv and looking for Gorizont 33 at 145 deg East, I got spot near the measat 2 at 148 deg East.

I read a the LYNGSAT/asia, Gorizont 33 (0.6), this has 3 transponders (8+h), say BEAM can be target australia.
I play with the FTA receiver tuner no signal strenght at all for day and night.

any clue you have?
cheers Peter

(Craigs comment, they are on the Zone beams which need very large dishes to get in Australia, 2 of them are Analog did you try an analog receiver? the only decent beams to Aus and NZ are the Global beams which are not being used)

From the Dish

Asiasat 3 105.5E 3900 V "The Indus info cards" have left .

Asiasat 2 100.5E 3774 H "Reuters World News Service" has left .

Satellite Launches

NSS 6 with Ariane is delayed from 27 November to December.
E-Bird & Insat 3A with Ariane are delayed from 9 December to January-March 2003.

NEWS

ACCC and Foxtel may ditch pay TV deal

From http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/10/30/1035683475235.html

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and Foxtel are likely to abandon negotiations over a radical pay TV deal if they are unable to resolve the major competition issues by next week.

The ACCC still has the same concerns which prompted it in June to block the original proposal for pay TV rivals Foxtel and Optus to share programming, despite the numerous concessions subsequently offered by the parties and intense negotiations that have ensued.

It is understood that the ACCC and Foxtel partners Telstra, News and PBL have agreed to walk away from the deal for good if they are unable to resolve the outstanding competition issues by next week. The regulator has promised it will give Foxtel and Optus a formal answer on their revised proposal by mid-November.

The ACCC ruled almost five months ago that the original Foxtel/Optus proposal was likely to breach the Trade Practices Act.

The commission said the deal created four main areas of concern - the acquisition of pay TV content, the supply of pay TV services, the likely dominance of the Foxtel network, and third party access to the Foxtel network to broadcast competing pay TV services.

In a bid to assuage fears its deal with Optus would create a virtual monopoly over pay TV in Australia, Foxtel gave the ACCC a raft of undertakings in September. Foxtel promised to resell its pay TV service to infrastructure providers, and has already struck commercial deals to do so with broadband network operators TransACT and Neighbourhood Cable.

Foxtel also promised to give aspiring pay TV players access to its network to broadcast competing services - for a minimum $1.25 million cost per channel. Some industry insiders have described it as "Clayton's access", arguing that Foxtel has set the price so high so as to deter any potential competition.

Since the undertakings were unveiled, Foxtel has made further concessions during its discussions with the ACCC. These, however, have been described as "negotiating around the edges", rather than resolving the main competition issues.

The ACCC also remains concerned about Telstra's proposal to bundle the Foxtel service with its telephony and internet services.

Telstra is adamant that the program-sharing deal with Optus is conditional on it being able to bundle pay TV.

Earlier this month News Corp deputy chief operating officer Lachlan Murdoch said: "There really is no room left to move" in terms of making more concessions to win ACCC approval for the Foxtel deal.

There will be massive ramifications for Australia's media and telecommunications sectors if Foxtel is unable to satisfy the ACCC's concerns and the pay TV deal is scrapped.

Foxtel and Optus have pitched their radical plan to restructure pay TV in Australia as the unprofitable industry's best chance of moving into the black. Optus has threatened to quit both the pay TV and local call markets if the deal does not proceed, claiming it could not justify continued investment in these areas.

Australians might also have to wait even longer for digital interactive services, as Foxtel has made its commitment to spend $600 million upgrading its analog cable network to digital conditional on the pay TV deal's being passed.

Fairfax attacks Foxtel plan

From http://finance.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,5395322%255E462,00.html

JOHN Fairfax Holdings has urged the competition watchdog to reject outright the proposed agreements between Foxtel, Optus and Telstra.

Fairfax chief executive officer Fred Hilmer said the group had told the Australian Competition and Consumer Association it should not approve the proposed Foxtel deal as the agreements substantially lessoned competition.

"What is presented in the agreements and undertakings is the creation of the most powerful and pervasive monopoly in the delivery of television, telephony, interactive and internet service since Telstra's monopoly was ended ten years ago," Mr Hilmer said.

"We should not be going backwards towards monopoly, but forwards to great competition."

Mr Hilmer said Fairfax was calling for a policy review to be undertaken by the Government to address the structure of the pay television industry in Australia.

He said the review should consider the separation between carriage and content across pay television and consider the limitations on cross-platform integration.

"With a proper review of industry structure, the requisite legislation could then be devised and implemented." Mr Hilmer said.

Foxtel and Optus unveiled their revamped content sharing proposal in early September, after the ACCC blocked the initial deal in June.

Mr Hilmer said the undertakings made by Foxtel on the key issues of access and digitisation were "irretrievably flawed and wholly inadequate".

Mr Hilmer said the terms and pricing of the access undertakings were onerous and would ensure that any service offered by competitors would not be commercially viable.

The undertakings on digitising the cable network were conditioned on a "give away" of basic protections afforded to consumers and competitors under legislation, he said.

Mr Hilmer also said the undertakings failed to address Foxtel's monopoly position in certain pay television markets, particularly sport, and would create a new monopoly in movie content.

He said the undertakings failed to resolve Fairfax's concern that the basic package would be used by Foxtel as a tool that was an effective barrier to entry.

Fairfax's submission to the ACCC is part of growing opposition to the Foxtel-Optus pay TV content sharing proposal.

A Foxtel spokesman told the Australian Financial Review that Fairfax appeared "not to comprehend the content of the proposed undertakings at all".

"The Fairfax response chooses to overlook the operational benefits to the sector from the comprehensive and transparently fair package of offered undertakings," the spokesman said.

TV3 PARTNERS WITH SKY FOR THREE YEAR RUGBY DEAL

From Sky website

TV3 and SKY Television announced today that agreement had been reached confirming TV3 as the exclusive free-to-air broadcaster for Rugby until 2005.

The new agreement gives TV3 the free-to-air broadcast rights for Super 12, Tri-Nations, International tests, NPC and Maori Rugby for the 2003, 2004 and 2005 seasons.

In an enhancement to their existing package, TV3 will also be able to screen a one-hour Super 12 highlights package of the weekend's round each Sunday. Also, TV3 will screen a second NPC match each weekend, and one hour highlights of the Australia V South Africa Tri-Nations games.

"We are extremely pleased to strengthen our good relationship with SKY Television even further with this three year Rugby deal," said TV3 CEO, Brent Impey.

"Our current contract with SKY Television allows us the option of matching any bids by competitors - an option we have taken up in order to match TVNZ's offer for these rights," he said.

SKY Television Chief Executive, John Fellet said, "Having a free-to-air broadcast
partner is an important part of our on-going involvement in televised sport in New
Zealand. TV3, with more than 98% coverage across New Zealand, is an ideal partner for us to continue working with.

For further information contact:

Brent Impey
CEO
TV3
Mob: 021 925 302

Tony O'Brien
Director of Communications
SKY Television
Ph (09) 579-9999
Mob: 021 497 830

(Craigs comment, TV3 also has the deal for FTA broadcasts of the cricket)

Falun Gong Followers Hijack Mainland Satellite Signals Again

From http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200210/31/eng20021031_105978.shtml

Taiwan-based followers of the Falun Gong cult hijacked mainland satellite signals twice in the past week, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said in a news conference on Wednesday.

Taiwan-based followers of the Falun Gong cult hijacked mainland satellite signals twice in the past week, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said in a news conference on Wednesday.

Li Weiyi, spokesman for the office said that the Sinosat satellite received "attacks from illegal signals" on October 24 and 29 and the attacks had "seriously affected normal program broadcasting."

Li also said those responsible must be punished.

"Our relevant departments made a prompt technical investigation into the direction of the interference and confirmed that it was arising from the city of Taipei in Taiwan province," said Li.

The spokesman said: "We strongly request that Taiwan authorities immediately begin searching for those who sent the illegal signals and seriously punish them," he said.

At a press conference on Sept. 25, experts revealed signals by the illegal Falun Gong cult had severely affected program transmission from China Central Television (CCTV) and China Education TV Station (CETV).

The Taiwanese authorities were responsible for investigating the incident, since the source of the illegal TV signals had been traced to a position in Taipei city in Taiwan, said the spokesman

China says Falun Gong used Taiwan to launch new attack on satellite

http://www.etaiwannews.com/Taiwan/2002/10/31/1036026471.htm

A pirate broadcaster based in Taiwan tried to break into a Chinese satellite signal last week to show Falun Gong material, a government spokesman and a state television employee said yesterday.

The government demanded that Taiwan track down the broadcaster and hand out "severe punishment."

It was the second time in six weeks that Chinese authorities have claimed that Falun Gong protesters using Taiwan as a base tried to break into signals on Sinosat. The satellite carries state-run China Central Television and other channels.

The latest attempt began October 24 and continued off and on until Tuesday, said Li Weiyi, a spokesman for the Chinese Cabinet's Taiwan Affairs Office. He said Chinese technicians tracked the broadcast to Taipei, the Taiwanese capital.

"We strongly demand the Taiwan administration immediately find the illegal signal source and give severe punishment," Li said at a news conference.

Taiwanese officials did not immediately comment on Li's accusation. But in the earlier case, they promised to investigate, while expressing doubt that the signal could be tracked so precisely. They said it could have come from anywhere in a large area of the Pacific Ocean.

China banned Falun Gong in mid-1999 as a threat to communist rule and public safety.

Thousands of Falun Gong adherents have been detained, though most are released after a few weeks. Activists abroad claim more than 500 have been killed in captivity. Chinese authorities deny mistreating anyone.

Chinese claims that Taiwan is the base for the satellite attacks put Beijing in the awkward position of appealing for help from a government that it says is illegitimate.

Li did not say who was accused of carrying out the latest attack. But a woman who answered the phone at the management office of the China Central Satellite Television Transmission Center said it was Falun Gong material. The center is run by CCTV.

DD to air foreign films

From http://www.hinduonnet.com/bline/stories/2002103100082000.htm

AFTER Star Gold, now it's DD Metro's turn to bring sub-titled international blockbusters to Indian households.

Director-General of Doordarshan (DDG), S.Y. Quraishi, said that Doordarshan has asked National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) to hunt for English movies which could be aired during the 8-10.30 time slot.

He also added that the recent acquisitions of new movies by satellite channels has made it difficult for DD to get new movies. The national broadcaster works on a royalty payment arrangement.

Quraishi also said that the broadcaster was facing problems in acquiring Tamil movies as the terrestrial rights for the films have been acquired by the Sun group.

Earlier too, there have been instances of satellite channels buying terrestrial rights, especially cricket matches. These channels later sold the rights to DD.

Doordarshan has a corpus of around Rs 11 crore for films every year and airs over a dozen films in its various channels.

Among the other initiatives, Quraishi said that DD is planning to celebrate 100 years of recorded music. The channel is planning to come out with a television series, radio shows, audio CDs and a book.

30/10/02

ABC Asia Pacific Pas 8 KU band is back but just for a couple of day as temp feed as the ATM broke down.

Not much else to report today

From my Emails & ICQ

From SCHIPPY

Subject: [Apsattv] BT1 and BT2 on I701

Currently No Video, But Audio Sounds like the E Channel from the states.

From the Dish

PAS 2 169E 4087 V "RTS Sat" has started on , Fta, PIDs 520/648.

PAS 8 166E 3860 H Star Chinese is back on , Viaccess 2, SID 12, PIDs 920/921.SBN is now encrypted.

Yamal 102 90E 3725 L Radio Rossii has left .

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3585 V "Balle Balle" has left , replaced by a test card.

Intelsat 704 66E 3760 R "ETV Kannada" has left (PAL), replaced by a test card.
Intelsat 704 66E 4055 R "EuroSport News" has left .

NEWS

INL looking to Sky for profit in 2004

From http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2096360a13,00.html

Independent Newspapers Ltd chairman Ken Cowley told shareholders at the publishing company's annual meeting today that two thirds owned Sky TV was on track towards positive cashflow in fiscal 2004.

He said Sky was set to reduce bottom line losses in fiscal 2003 and be profitable in 2004.

INL, 45 percent owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Ltd, said its core publishing company was performing strongly.

Mr Cowley did not believe continuing rumours that Telecom might sell its 10 percent stake in INL and, or, its 12 percent stake in Sky TV was the reason for INL's weak share price. He cited a worldwide falloff in media stocks as the main factor.

INL shares were up 3 cents at $3.03 today, having fallen from $4.20 in March.

INL's new chief executive Peter Wylie stressed the importance of INL having a stake in all parts of the media.

"New media has always been a threat to newspapers...the secret is you must have a share of the entire media action and you must dominate it."

Mr Cowley stressed the company's value as a national advertising vehicle and said it would look for cost reductions, synergies, and better use of its printing presses and other plant to improve performance.

ORBITAL WINS CONTRACT FROM TELKOM OF INDONESIA

From Press release

Contact: Barron Beneski, (703) 406-5000, beneski.barron@orbital.com

Company Continues to Capture Global Market Share for Small GEO Satellites
(Dulles, VA 28 October 2002) - Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) announced today that it has signed a major new contract in its geosynchronous (GEO) communications satellite manufacturing business. Indonesia's state-owned telecommunications company, PT Telkomunikasi Indonesia Tbk (TELKOM) (NYSE: TLK; LSE: TKID; JSK: TLKM), has signed a contract with Orbital to manufacture one GEO communications satellite. The satellite, based on the company's state-of-the-art STAR-2 platform, will carry 24 C-band transponders and will be designed for a 15-year in-orbit life. The contract calls for a satellite delivery schedule that supports a planned launch in late 2004.

"This satellite contract from TELKOM is further evidence that our small satellite solution is an ideal fit for many customers around the world," said Dr. Ali Atia, head of Orbital's GEO communications satellite unit. "For customers such as TELKOM, whose frequency availability does not call for one of the industry's larger, more expensive spacecraft, our STAR-2 design provides the most modern, easy to manage small satellite available today. With an advanced satellite design based on three-axis stabilization and a significant power margin over our nearest competitor, we have become the preferred supplier of satellites in this class," Dr. Atia concluded.

The order from TELKOM builds on Orbital's growing list of GEO communications satellites in orbit or in production. To date, Orbital has manufactured and launched four GEO satellites and has six other GEO spacecraft in various stages of design or production.

The new TELKOM satellite will be based on Orbital's STAR-2 platform, which provides up to 4.5 kilowatts of payload power and can carry as many as 40 transponders for C-, L-, S-, X-, Ka- and Ku-band applications. STAR-2 satellites range in launch mass from approximately 1,500 to 2,300 kilograms. Orbital also offers a slightly smaller GEO platform, the STAR-1, which provides up to 1.5 kilowatts of payload power and weighs approximately 1,000 to 1,500 kilograms at launch.

The new satellite for TELKOM will be launched into geosynchronous orbit, 22,300 miles above the Earth, at 118 degrees East longitude. The satellite will enable TELKOM to replace its existing Palapa-B4 satellite with an expansion of its coverage area into Southern Asia and the Indian subcontinent in addition to its current Indonesian capacity. The satellite will be used for voice, video and data communications for the region.

Orbital is one of the world's leading developers and manufacturers of affordable space systems for commercial, civil government and military customers. The company's primary products include low-orbit, geosynchronous and planetary spacecraft for communications, scientific and remote sensing missions; ground- and air-launched rockets that deliver satellites into orbit; and missile defense boosters that are used as target and interceptor vehicles. Orbital also offers space-related technical services to government agencies and develops and builds satellite-based transportation management systems for public transit agencies and private vehicle fleet operators.

More information about Orbital can be found at http://www.orbital.com

NDTV on recruitment drive for Hindi channel

From indiantelevision.com

MUMBAI: Prannoy Roy's New Delhi Television (NDTV) has made official its intent to launch its Hindi news channel after March 2003, with advertisements in a national daily today.

According to the advertisement in The Times of India, NDTV will be launching its Hindi news channel , early next year.

The ad specifies that the channel is looking to hire reporters, correspondents, anchors, junior and senior editorial staff, camerapersons, engineers, graphic artists and designers. No details of the qualifications or the minimum experience required for the various posts are mentioned.

The production company obviously requires manpower only for the Hindi channel, as an entire team is already in place for the English channel it is reportedly simultaneously launching. With Aaj Tak also having advertised for personnel in various positions last month, the proposed news channels are now gearing for a hefty recruitment drive.

Eutelsat To Launch A Satellite Aimed At Indian Broadcasters

From http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=20704

Mumbai: Eutelsat, one of the world’s leading providers of satellite communications solutions, will by next month launch W5, a satellite on Ku band dedicated to the Indian and Asian markets. The satellite will be operational by January, 2003.

The company has applied for landing rights permission from the government.

?We are in the process of getting landing rights for W5. We envisage a large market in India and are targeting channels in the news, regional languages and entertainment genres,” said Jan Grondrup-Vivanco, regional director, Middle East, Asia and Scandinavia, Eutelsat.

Eutelsat is also keen to exploit the direct-to-home (DTH) market in India. There is no transparency in the cable industry and a lot of discrepancies exist in the area covered by the public and the private broadcasters.

?If the government is not liberal with its policies, DTH will come in India through the back door. The technology is ready and waiting, there is local content, the market is big enough and there is a need for DTH. India should be careful not to create a Napster-like situation because of pressures,” said Mr Vivanco.

The music distribution over Internet came through the backdoor. Dominated by an expensive manual distribution system, the music industry was lying too comfortable and too fat, for too long. DTH could make an entry like the music business, Mr Vivanco added.

Eutelsat is also plans to tap the re-broadcasting market in India. Television content from India would get re-broadcasted on the Hot Bird satellite in the overseas markets.

The overcapacity of satellites in the Asian region, Mr Vivanco said, is leading to a “lot of price dumping in the market.” Several small operators have joined the business, while big players have created more capacity. “For satellite companies, the trend is towards consolidation. We just bought a small operator, Stellat, in France. With a fleet of 18 satellites and additional capacity on three other satellites, Eutelsat has the flexibility to shift capacities. We shifted one of our beams on satellite for coverage on Afghanistan, for the US attack on Taliban,” said Mr Vivanco.

From its Hot Bird and other orbital positions, Eutelsat transmits 1,300 TV and 550 radio stations to 98 million cable and satellite homes. “With an excess satellite capacity in the market and the global economy not expanding, the industry is going through a tough period. But with most of the broadcasters, we have signed long term contracts and so are better protected,” said Mr Vivanco.

29/10/02

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

Lots of news today

The Access 1 internet service on B3 Globecast has changed its no longer available to dialup users. The service will remain on the transponder though.

From my Emails & ICQ

From Zapara

RTS Satellite channel seen on Pas 2 Tarbs mux

http://www.rts.co.yu/kategorija_program.asp?redosled=prioritet&Category=xtsatsema

Subject: [Apsattv] 12527 Vert services

Most people may not be aware of it but the 12595 Vert services are now
transposed on 12527 Vert, because they do not have a NIT they are coming up
untagged on a Nokia, all the PIDs are the same, the actual Program Map
loads up 41 chs although only the Tagged chs load on a Humax, It looks
like the ch shuffling has started.

If you have a copy of Sept 2002 Satfact, it contains a comparison chart for
B3 and C1 transponders.

From Bill Richards 27/10/02

0805 UTC

Pas 2 4045 H Sr 6110, Fec 3/4 Vpid 308 Apid 256, SID1 "9MHz SCPC" "Indy Car Feed from Queensland Australia"

From Bill Richards 28/10/02

1910 UTC

Pas 8 3920 V Sr 25707, Fec 7/8
Vpid 257 Apid 258 SID1 Mexico APEC 2002 test card
Vpid 273 Apid 275 SID2 apec promos
Vpid 289 Apid 291 SID3 apec promos
Vpid 305 Apid 306 SID4 apec promos
Vpid 321 Apid 322 SID5 apec promos
Vpid 337 Apid 338 SID6 apec promos
Vpis 353 Apid 354 SID7 apec promos

Regards
Bill

From "Yudi" 27/10/02

Feed on palapa c2 :

3885H sr 5632
3895H sr 5632

it also seen last weekend...i guess the feed is for serie A soccer...fta
but sctv and tpi broadcast serie A in fta also....

From the Dish

PAS 2 169E 4087 V "KISB 3" has left , replaced by a test card.

PAS 8 166E 4050 V The TVB mux is still Fta.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3585 V "Southern Spice" has started, Fta, PIDs 520/648.

NEWS

ACCC decision near on Foxtel-Optus alliance

From http://afr.com/companies/2002/10/29/FFXNEXA4U7D.html

Foxtel and Optus should know the fate of their proposed $1.3 billion alliance as early as next week after meetings with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission yesterday.

Foxtel chief executive Kim Williams met senior ACCC officials in Canberra.

But it is believed the pay-TV group and the regulator remain divided on several key competition issues relating to Foxtel's plan to share programming with Optus.

Dialogue is expected to continue this week and the partners are likely to know early next week if the alliance - and a separate deal to allow Telstra to bundle pay-TV, internet and telephony services - will proceed.

Telstra, Foxtel's 50 per cent shareholder, is adamant that the content-sharing and bundling deals are linked and will not be separated, despite the requests of the regulator.

But the ACCC remains concerned about the competitive impact of allowing Telstra to bundle products, including pay-TV, while third parties will be compelled to take an inseparable package of basic content from Foxtel which will mirror that offered by Telstra.

The regulator is understood to be keen for Foxtel to consider giving its competitors access to a specific Foxtel channel or channels to boost competition, specifically the premium sports channel Fox Sports.

Fox Sports, now owned by Foxtel's 25 per cent shareholders Publishing and Broadcasting and News Corporation, is part of Foxtel's basic package of programming.

The package is being offered to third party infrastructure providers on an all-or-nothing basis under one of a series of 12 undertakings Foxtel has given to the ACCC to allay competition concerns.

Meanwhile, fresh concerns have arisen about the fate of legislation which will ensure Foxtel receives immunity from standard regulation under the Trade Practices Act. Foxtel says it needs the security provided by legislative amendments to the Trade Practices Act to ensure it spends $600 million to upgrade its network to digital.

The reforms would allow companies like Foxtel to give enforceable undertakings to provide third-party access to their digital services without having the new service "declared" and thus regulated.

Satellite ISP shuts doors

From http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,5382534%255E15306,00.html

SATELLITE internet service provider Access 1 has closed its doors, telling its customers to look elsewhere for their internet connectivity.

Access 1, which was bought by ASX-listed Swish Group in January, notified customers by email on Friday that their connections would be terminated at 5pm that day.

They were advised to contact Pacific Internet to arrange a new service.

Pacific Internet, who provided Access 1's bandwidth, confirmed they had cut off the satellite ISP for failing to pay its bills.

"They didn't pay their bills for a couple of months, so eventually we had to cut them off," said Pacific spokeswoman Caroline Shawyer.

"It's unfortunate for their customers, but we want to stay afloat, so we had to do it."

One Access 1 customer said they had not received a bill from the company for six or seven months.

Swish Group has been contacted for comment.

Funding agency reviews subsidy of TV transmitters

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

New Zealand On Air is reviewing its $1 million-plus funding for transmission coverage so 14,000 homes can receive TV One and TV2.

The households are in black spots in Northland, north Taranaki, coastal Wairarapa, Milford Sound, Murchison, the West Coast and Banks Peninsula.

NZ On Air wants to revise the $1.18 million subsidy it pays TVNZ now that TV One and TV2 are available on Sky Television's satellite platform.

TV One and TV2 are not encrypted, so homes with a satellite dish and decoder can receive the digital signals without having to pay a Sky subscription.

However, households without Sky would need to buy the hardware - a satellite dish and set-top box - to receive the digital signals.

"On a technical level, we are continuing to pay a subsidy for maintaining the analogue transmitters in those remote areas needlessly," NZ On Air chief executive Jo Tyndall said.

The review would assess the lifespan and viability of the analogue system.

The $1.18 million could pay for 250 hours of a magazine programme or studio-based children's show, Ms Tyndall said. NZ On Air would find out how many of the homes affected already had Sky.

There was no suggestion NZ On Air would pay for a set-top box and a satellite dish for homes that do not have them, but TVNZ believed the subsidy should continue despite its deal with Sky.

"That is a pay service and the whole purpose of this [subsidy] is to provide free-to-air access to those channels," TVNZ spokesman Glen Sowry said.

He said TVNZ and NZ On Air had many times discussed the best way to achieve universal coverage.

NZ On Air hopes to report to the Government by the end of the year and have a decision before next June.

TV direct sales outdo hopes

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

Australian direct sales group TVSN says its foray into the New Zealand digital television market is performing better than expected.

TVSN, which runs infomercials, home shopping and wholesale retail operations, launched on the Sky Television platform in New Zealand in August 2002, reaching an estimated 330,000 new viewers.

NDS rejects latest charges by Measat

From indiantelevision.com

LONDON: News Corp technology arm NDS Group has responded to the latest suit filed against it by Malaysian billionaire Ananda Krishnan's satellite group, MEASAT Broadcast Network Systems. "NDS has categorically rejected these allegations in the past and has motions pending to have the case dismissed," a company statement says.

The lawsuit which began with Canal Plus Technologies (CPT) of France alleging that NDS helped fund hackers who published secrets on the Internet about its pay-TV technology, was soon followed by another lawsuit by DirecTV, which blamed NDS of breach of contract, fraud, breach of warranty and misappropriation of trade secrets.

"Measat, a customer of Canal+ Technologies, has filed a motion to intervene in the Canal+ action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on the basis of the same allegations claimed by Canal+ in its action."

"On 1 October Canal+ and NDS agreed to stay all proceedings in the action until the closing of the acquisition of Telepiu by News Corporation, at which time the lawsuit will be dismissed with prejudice," the statement goes on to say.

Recently , NDS filed a countersuit which alleges that DirecTV Enterprises and a chip manufacturer had misappropriated NDS' trade secrets and proprietary information, conspired to infringe NDS' patents, colluded to create unfair competition and breached agreements and licenses restricting the use of NDS' intellectual property.

The Measat suit followed a day after NDS countersued DirecTV.

MEASAT's entry into the proceedings adds a new twist to this ongoing saga as Canal Plus was to have dropped its suit as part of a deal struck earlier this month when its parent company, Vivendi Communications, sold its Italian pay-TV operation, Telepiù, to News Corp.

NDS has repeatedly denied all allegations, which its says are "baseless and motivated by a desire on the part of certain persons and entities to cause harm to NDS and to thwart legitimate competition from NDS".

Australia To Help Ease DSN Demand

From http://www.spacedaily.com/news/dsn-02f.html

When six spacecraft besiege Mars in early 2004, CSIRO will help NASA catch as much data from them as possible.

The three tracking stations of NASA's Deep Space Network - near Canberra, Madrid in Spain and Goldstone in California - will be working flat out to monitor the Mars craft and several others.

CSIRO oversees the operation of the Canberra station on NASA's behalf.

"We've recently upgraded the station," says station Director Mr Peter Churchill. "We can now listen to two spacecraft and talk to one of them, all at the same time through one antenna."

And the Parkes telescope has been contracted to lend a hand by tracking some of the Mars spacecraft and others from November 2003 to February 2004.

NASA's Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey probes are already orbiting the planet. Six more missions will arrive in 2003-04.

NASA's two robotic Mars Exploration Rovers will be looking for evidence of liquid water and analysing rocks and soil. Nozomi, Japan's first Mars probe, will be studying the upper atmosphere. And Europe's Mars Express will map surface and subsurface structures. It will drop a British lander, Beagle 2, which will search for signs of water and life.

NASA is spending $US54 million ($A100 million) to prepare the Deep Space Network for the coming 'traffic jam'.

The 64-m Parkes telescope has tracked NASA spacecraft from the 1960s through to the 1990s. Its most prominent role, celebrated in the film "The Dish", was supporting the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing.

"Our ability to track spacecraft and to build the necessary technology flows from our basic research in radio astronomy," says John Brooks, Assistant Director of CSIRO's Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF), which operates the Parkes Observatory.

NASA will pay about $A3 million to cover Parkes' tracking time, to build a sensitive new signal receiver, and to upgrade the telescope's surface.

Some of the wire mesh panels in the outer part of the dish will be replaced with more even ones of perforated aluminium sheet, to enlarge the smooth part of dish's surface. This will make the dish more sensitive to signals at 8. 4 GHz, the frequency at which the spacecraft will broadcast. The work will be carried out by Sydney Engineering Pty Ltd.

The surface upgrade and the new receiver will double the amount of signal power the telescope can collect at this frequency. "This is a major gain for NASA and for the astronomers from all around the world who use the telescope," says Dr John Reynolds, Officer in Charge at the Parkes Observatory.

China’s New Satellite to End Airwave Hijacking

From satnewsasia.com

Apstar VI, a communications satellite built by Alcatel Space to resist signal hijacking from the ground, will be launched in late 2004 by China to combat what it claims are signals terrorism by the outlawed Falun Gong religious movement.

Apstar VI will be operated by APT Satellite Co Ltd in Hong Kong and will become China's first foreign-made satellite employing technology to prevent malicious interruptions. Apstar VI, with an expected mission life of 13 years, will be orbited by a Long March-3B launch vehicle from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. It will carry 38 C-band and 12 Ku-band transponders that will provide broadcasting and telecommunications services in China, Southeast Asia, Australia and Hawaii.

This countermeasure comes in the wake of alleged signals hijackings by Falun Gong followers based in Taiwan. Earlier this month, China claimed Taiwan as the source of TV signals illegally transmitted by the Falun Gong. It said the signals originated in the Taipei area and were traced through the use of internationally-accredited technologies and advanced monitoring equipment.

Twice in September, signals allegedly beamed by Falun Gong cult members repeatedly jammed transmissions of the Sino Satellite (Sinosat) system. Beijing's experts claim to have traced the source of interference to the area of Taipei. Taiwan earlier dismissed China's allegations that Falun Gong members had used the island to hijack signals from Sinosat. Lin Ching-chih, an official at Taiwan's Directorate General of Telecommunications, called Beijing's charges "far-fetched" as they had sent personnel and equipment to investigate a site in Yangming Mountain near Taipei from where Beijing claimed the broadcast signals originated and had found nothing.

Last September, Alcatel Space and the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) signed a contract to jointly develop the first high capacity Chinese telecommunications satellite. Both parties signed the contract in the presence of Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji, French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Alcatel President and Chief Executive Officer Serge Tchuruk, the President of China Aerospace Corporation (parent company of CAST) Zhang Qingwei and the President of Asia Pacific Telecom (APT), Chen Zao Bing.

Alcatel will provide the payload module for the satellite, Dongfanghong-4 (DFH-4) to CAST for integration into DFH4. The new satellite that will be delivered to APT (Hong Kong) will provide communication, radio and TV broadcasting services to telecom operators and the broadcast industry. DFH-4 is to be launched by a Long March rocket in 2005. In 2001, APT purchased the Apstar VB satellite from Alcatel Space.

APT operates three in-orbit geostationary satellites: Apstar I, Apstar IA and Apstar IIR. It plans to launch another satellite, Apstar V, late in 2003 to replace Apstar I. Apstar V will be capable of delivering DBS services to private households, and will carry C, Ku and Ka-band high power transponders. APT plans to spend around US$300 million for DBS in China, which allows improved reception of satellite information with smaller antennae.

Alcatel Space develops satellite technology solutions for telecommunications, navigation, optical and radar observation, meteorology and scientific applications. It also Europe's leading contractor for Earth observation, meteorology and navigation ground segments, as well as space systems operations. Alcatel established itself in China the 1980s with a full portfolio of telecom equipment activities.

T S I C H A N N E L N E W S - Number 43/2002 27 October 2002 -

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

Edited Apsattv.com Edition

A S I A

AUSTRALIA

REGULATOR EXPECTS PAY-TV DECISION IN MID-NOVEMBER

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission said on October 22 it
expects to make a decision on a proposed deal between pay-TV companies
Foxtel and SingTel Optus in mid-November. The regulatory process has been
slowed by other industry participants wanting extra time to make their
submissions to the ACCC, a spokeswoman said. The ACCC has received several
submissions and is continuing to have discussions with many parties, she
added. According to a report in the Australian Financial Review newspaper,
the regulator is at odds with Foxtel over key parts of its planned alliance
with SingTel Optus’ pay-TV business, raising speculation that the deal may
collapse if more concessions are sought. The commission also has
reservations about a separate plan by Foxtel’s 50% owner, Telstra Corp, to
bundle pay-TV with its telephone and Internet services, the paper said.
Foxtel and SingTel Optus have rejigged their alliance hoping to overcome
ACCC objections to their original plan. The pair want to align their pay-TV
offerings, hoping to bring an end to widespread losses in their industry.

NETWORK SEVEN OPPOSES LEGISLATIVE CHANGES

Terrestrial Network Seven said it opposed legislative changes that would
guarantee that pay-TV leader Foxtel would be able to recover the estimated
€300 million cost of digitising its network. Under the terms of legislation
currently before the upper house of the Australian parliament, the
Telecommunications Competition Bill, Foxtel would be able to set the tariff
for access to services on the digitised network even before it is built.
But Seven argues that this would be contrary to the Trades Practices Act
that mandates open access to pay-TV services. Seven added that it is
concerned that Foxtel would be able to control the digital gateway to
households for TV, telephony and the Internet. Foxtel, which is proposing a
content sharing deal with third-ranked pay TV platform Optus in order to
cut content acquisition costs, says that it needs to know what it can
charge for access to a digitised network to persuade shareholders Telstra,
News Corp and PBL to pay for the upgrade.

CHINA HONG KONG

PAY-TV CHANNELS TAKE STAND AGAINST PIRACY

The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA), which
represents 120 member companies, has confirmed that a law suit has been
initiated against five companies involved in the trading of unlicensed
satellite TV signal decoding equipment. The defendants are charged with
selling equipment that enables the unauthorized distribution of programming
in Hong Kong. Broadcasters named as plaintiffs in the suit are STAR TV,
CNN, Turner Entertainment Network, ESPN STAR Sports, Discovery and NGC
Network, who are all seeking damages as well as an injunction to prevent
further unauthorized distribution of their services.

MALAYSIA

MEASAT JOINS CANAL+ COURT ACTION

Measat Broadcast Network Systems, a Malaysian satellite broadcaster and a
customer of Canal+ Technologies, has filed a motion to intervene in the
Canal+ action in the United States District Court for the Northern District
of California on the basis of the same allegations claimed by Canal+ in its
action. NDS has categorically rejected these allegations in the past and
has motions pending to have the case dismissed. On October 1, 2002 Canal+
and NDS agreed to stay all proceedings in the action until the closing of
the acquisition of Tele+ by News Corporation, at which time the lawsuit
will be dismissed with prejudice.

NEW ZEALAND

SKY TV TO LAUNCH E-MAIL SERVICE

Leading pay-TV operator, Sky Network Television, expects to launch its
television-based e-mail service in November. Subscribers would need to
purchase a wireless keyboard to operate the e-mail system, which will be
text-based and won’t support attachments. Pay-per-view movies generated
revenue of NZ$10 million in the company’s last financial year with a
heavyweight boxing fight earning NZ$900,000 alone. The recently launched
games channel has signed up 13,222 subscribers.

(Craigs comment, Games channel??? they are referring to LUDI games, its not a channel, rather low quality games that play and look like something from the early 1980's)

THE PHILIPPINES

NEW RULES FOR CABLE CARRIAGE

Philippine TV regulator the NTC is to publish new rules preventing program
providers from entering into exclusive arrangements with cable operators.
The move was prompted by Hong Kong-based Star's decision to pull five
channels from Destiny Cable. Destiny, which is the second-ranked MSO in the
Manila area, reportedly fears that channel providers are pressured by
bigger rival Beyond Holdings to sign exclusive deals. Star has not given a
reason for pulling its channels from Destiny.

SAUDI ARABIA

GLOBAL ISLAMIC TV CHANNEL TO LAUNCH

The first English-language Islamic television channel launches next month,
promoting the religion's teachings across the Middle East, with plans to
roll the service out across Europe, Asia and North America. The Saudi-based
Almajd Group, a privately-owned conglomerate with interests in real estate
and airport services, is making its first moves into the TV sector with the
launch of two channels: Al Majd (in Arabic) and sister service Al Majd 2,
in English. Both are due to launch on the first day of Ramadan on November
6. The free-to-air services are intended to "propagate Islamic knowledge
and awareness," according to Almajd Group, featuring documentaries, current
affairs, news, re-enactments from Islamic history, children's shows and
animation. The channels will also feature live coverage from the Grand
Mosque in Mecca during the Islamic holy month, alongside other programmes
on Islamic instruction. The channels are intended to cater to the estimated
100 million satellite homes across the Islamic world. Besides carriage on
Egyptian satellite platform Nilesat, Almajd Satellite Broadcasting
Corporation is building set-top boxes that are designed only to decode
Almajd signals so viewers in Saudi Arabia can avoid what they see as
"pornographic Western channels", said an Almajd spokesman. After Ramadan,
the English-language channel will also be carried by Eutelsat and AsiaSat,
and there are also plans to have the service on Astra in Malaysia and on
Telstar for the US. The English channel will air eight hours a day, from
production bases in Cairo, Riyadh and Dubai.

28/10/02

No update is a Holiday here today

27/10/02

NO update Sunday

26/10/02

Sorry only a small update today. What is the ABC up to ? I wonder how long the broadcasts on B1 will stay FTA?

Not much news today

Various feeds seen today B1, 12430V 12420V and 12410V

From my Emails & ICQ

From SSS <SSS@optus.com.au

Dear All,

For your information, the ABC have implemented Regional Blocking on all
their Aurora TV Services.

This means that all DTH viewers will now only have their State Regional ABC
TV channel available (except ABC SE viewers who will also get the ABC
National Channel 49). ABC have implemented this on instruction from their
legal department.

Please call the ABC on 1300 139994 if you would like further information.

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

(Craigs comment, anyone know why and what they are up to?)

From newsmedia

HAMARA TV

According to their website the start-up HAMARA TV has now been deffered to Early January 2003
http://www.hamaratv.com/hamaratv.asp?section=news

From Zapara

CCTV1 Asiasat 2

Show TV Thaicom 3

From the Dish

Nothing received

NEWS

CNBC Asia cuts 40 jobs in region-wide restructuring

From http://asia.reuters.com

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Business news network CNBC Asia will cut 40 jobs as part of a restructuring of its Asia-Pacific operations to meet declining advertising revenue, a spokesman for the company said on Friday.

Shawn Galey, vice president for business and legal affairs at CNBC Singapore -- a joint venture between NBC and Dow Jones & Co DJ -- said most of the job losses would be in the city state and were effective from today.

"Of the 40 people between 80 and 90 percent will be from the Singapore operation," Galey said. The job losses reduce CNBC Asia's total workforce by 23 percent to 135 people from 175.

Galey said conditions in the global advertising market place were driving the change "combined with very demanding shareholders who want to get a return on their investment".

As a result of the cutbacks, CNBC Asia will switch to U.S. programming from 8.00 pm. (1200 GMT) each evening to coincide with the start of the trading day in New York.

25/10/02

Hamara TV confirmed as being on Adhoc channel in the Globecast mux on Optus B3

I was going to put up some screenshots from Thaicom 3, but they will have to wait until tommorow

One email for the ANON Rumour Column

"Optus C1 planning to be positioned at 152deg E, Aurora customers are the ONLY ones moving, This can be confirmed by the Aurora ch reshuffling. Foxtel to stay on B3 because C1 power level to be down by as much as 3db compared with B3. and they can not afford to reposition dishes and change to larger dish size. 1.2mt required for reliable service."

From my Emails & ICQ

From Ahmad Mobasheri

RE: Shandong TV Asiasat 2
No signal in Auckland . AS2, 3853V,6813,3/4.

Cheers

From Various..

Optus B1, 12410 V Sr 6110 Fec 3/4 "Channel 10 Indy Feeds"

From Mike

Hi,

Tarbs have added MBC (arabic), Eurosports News, Marco Polo (Italian), Hunan TV (Mandarin), Asia Plus (Mandarin) ... More to come. Tarbs Channel Line UP so far.

TARBS Channel line up as of 25/10/02

Credits to Phil Debono

channel 1: Sky Racing/Nightmoves
channel 2: ESPN sports
channel 3: CNN
channel 4: MCM
channel 5: Cartoon Network
channel 6: TCM
channel 7: ESC (ARABIC)
channel 8: NDM (ARABIC)
channel 9: FUT (ARABIC)
channel 10: NTV (RUSSIAN)
channel 11: NTVP (RUSSIAN)
channel 12: KDTV (TURKISH)
channel 13: ATV (TURKISH)
channel 14: SHOW TV (TURKISH)
channel 15: TRT INT (TURKISH)
channel 16: VIZ (VIZYON TURKISH)
channel 17: NITV (PERSIAN)
channel 18: TVP (POLISH)
channel 19: ESC-2 (ARABIC)
channel 20: TVC (SPANISH)
channel 21: TVE (SPANISH)
channel 22: TI (TELETALIA)
channel 23: VIT VIDEO ITALIA(ITALY)
channel 24: TVG (PORTUGUESE)
channel 25: MKTV (MACEDONIAN)
channel 26: PINK PLUS (BELGRADE)
channel 27: BKTV (SERBIAN)
channel 28: RTS (SERBIAN)
channel 29: KOTV (KOREAN)
channel 30: TLIB (LEBANON)
channel 31: PHOE (CANTONESE)
channel 32: CCTV-4 (MANDARIN)
channel 33: TFC (FILIPINO)
channel 34: CIN1 (FILIPINO)
channel 35: TV SYRIA (ARABIC)
channel 36: ALPHA (GREEK)
channel 37: MEGA COSMOS (GREEK)
channel 38: ERT (GREEK)
channel 39: ANTENNA (GREEK)
channel 40: SIC (PORTUGESE)
channel 41: C1 (Armenian)
channel 42: EGYPTIAN CHANNEL 3 (ARABIC)
channel 43: NILE VARIETY (ARABIC)
channel 44: ORT (RUSSIAN)
channel 45: PALESTINIAN CHANNEL (ARABIC)
channel 46: MBC (ARABIC)
channel 47: Al-MANAR TV LEBANON (ARABIC)
channel 48: .............
channel 49: .............
channel 50: .............
channel 51: .............Channels 48 to 54 are for
channel 52: .............the future
channel 53: .............
channel 54: .............
channel 55: PTV (POWER TV MANDARIN)
channel 56: TV MODA (ITALIAN)
channel 57: EUROSPORT NEWS
channel 58: Marco Polo (Italian)
channel 59: TV5 THAI TV GLOBAL NETWORK
channel 60: IRIB-3 (IRANIAN)
channel 61: TELEFE INTERNACIONAL (SPANISH)
channel 62: TARBS Test card
channel 63: TARBS Test card
channel 64: INN (ITALIAN)
channel 65: ALICE/LEONARDO (ITALIAN)
channel 66: RAI INTERNATIONAL(ITALIAN)
channel 67: TELEPACE (ITALIAN)
channel 68: TV MODA (ITALIAN)
channel 69: Power TV (Mandarin)
channel 70: ASIA PLUS (MANDERIN)
channel 71: HUNAN TV (MANDERIN)
channel 72: TARBS Test card

Channel 58 has EuroSports will keep an eye on this one to see if it stays

Mike

(Craigs comment, Hunan and Asia Plus are of course FTA on Cband, keep an eye on them and see if they stay FTA)

From the Dish

PAS 8 166E 3860 H "Star Chinese" has left .
PAS 8 166E 4050 V All channels and test cards in the TVB mux are now encrypted.

Optus B1 160E 12734 V "Sky Box Office Movies 63-64" have started on , Videoguard,SIDs 1046-1047, PIDs 2305/2306-2307/2308.

Koreasat 2 113E 12370 H "Shopping S" has left , replaced by a test card.

Apstar 2R 76.5E 4169 H "Occasional feeds" on , Sr 4400, Fec 3/4.

Intelsat 906 64E 3963 R "TBN" has started , Fta, Sr 6620, Fec 3/4, PIDs 1360/1320,West Hemi beam.

NEWS

Seven sets dogs on Foxtel

From http://finance.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,5356026%255E462,00.html

THE Seven Network is expected to launch a multi-million-dollar damages claim against pay-TV group Foxtel and its owners next week, relating to the demise of Seven's pay-TV sports channel, C7.

After more than a year of pre-action discovery, the network is expected to launch an action in the Federal Court under the Trade Practices Act.

It will allege that Foxtel and its owners - The Australian's owner, News Ltd - Publishing & Broadcasting, Telstra and others used their market power to force C7's demise.

While the case is likely to prompt months of legal argument, its immediate effect will be to pressure the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission into disallowing the Foxtel-Optus content-sharing deal.

Sources have also told The Australian Seven believes it has strong evidence against Telstra which it may also be able to use to leverage itself into a future T3 sell-off.

In 1997, Seven delayed the Optus listing after suing the Optus Vision consortium, of which Seven was a member, before the matter was settled.

Seven's C7 sports channel ceased operation on Optus in March when its AFL pay-TV rights expired.

Foxtel, News, PBL, Ten and Telstra gained the AFL rights in a five-year, $500 million deal last year.

Seven owned the first and last right of refusal on the AFL rights, but could not match the consortium's bid.

Seven began the pre-discovery process in July last year, seeking information on the TV rights negotiations for the NRL and AFL.

It also sought information from News, Publishing & Broadcasting, Foxtel, Fox Sports, Telstra and the AFL on how the contract was awarded.

At the time, Seven's managing director of new media and investments Steve Wise said: "We are concerned that this powerful consortium may have made illegal arrangements and used their market power to remove competition from subscription TV in Australia."

The court allowed Seven access to most, but not all, of the documents it sought.

Seven executive chairman Kerry Stokes has recently been talking up the potential action to Seven's investors.

Seven said this year it had formed a board subcommittee to consider its legal options.

It said in August its deliberations were continuing.

Meantime, Optus chief executive Chris Anderson said yesterday he did not believe recent reports that the ACCC would disallow its deal with Foxtel.

He maintained consumers would be the greatest beneficiaries from the deal and maintained it would be difficult for Optus to remain in pay-TV if the deal was defeated.

Casbaa clamps down in HK on unlicenced decoder sale

From www.indiantelevision.com

HONG KONG: The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa) has confirmed that civil action was launched in Hong Kong on Monday against five companies for allegedly importing and trading in unlicensed satellite TV signal decoding equipment.

The plaintiffs named in the actions are Star TV, CNN, Turner Entertainment Network, ESPN Star Sports, Discovery and NGC Network.

There has been concern among Casbaa members since the beginning of the year that traders are selling decoders for services that are not licensed in Hong Kong. For example, pay TV service providers such as UBC of Bangkok, Astro of Kuala Lumpur and Dream of Manila are only authorised to distribute the channels mentioned earlier in Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines respectively and are not legally authorized to distribute them in Hong Kong.

In mid-2002 the Casbaa-member channels hired an independent investigation firm to collect evidence against companies in Hong Kong that were selling equipment and subscriptions for various pay-TV services and packages that do not originate from Hong Kong.

"We see these actions as a 'heads-up' that commercial entities that do not pay the copyright owners for the right to distribute their signals will be taken to court," Casbaa CEO Simon Twiston Davies, was quoted as saying in an official release.

24/10/02

A New Indian service has popped up from out of the woodwork, HamaraTV claims to be the local channel for Australia and NZ Indians. It's likely to be on Optus B3 but the info is confusing as it says its free but also mentions a smartcard. Globecast or BTV perhaps?

New Technosat IRD's being used on Zee's B3 Vision Asia service are not working acording to prospective customers who have been inquiring to see when their install will take place with the NZ installation and service agent. This is leaving many unhappy prospective subscribers worried that they will miss out on the Diwali celebrations. Dealers now may be a good time for Cband Indian "Diwali" special

Sky channel labled 0404 and 0104 that appeard last week have left. The newest change noticed is below

12733 V Sr 22500 Fec 3/4

"SBO Movies 63" Vpid 2305 Apid 2306 Sid 1046 PMT 276
"SBO Movies 64" Vpid 2307 Apid 2308 Sid 1047 PMT 273

A mailer from Sky says their "SKYMAIL" email service will be available by Christmas here it is.

"SKYmail arrives in time for Christmas"

The Convenience of television email is now here in your living room.SKYmail is a revolutionary new service from SKY that lets you send and receive text based emails on your TV just in time fo Christmas. Access SKYmail through the interaction key on your digital remote. If you are a SKY Digital subscriber all you need to do is purchase SKY'S funky new wireless keyboard. SKYmail is easy to use, and comes with easy to follow instructions. It's also much cheaper than a computer and best of all, you can do it from your couch. You can access your existing email addresses or setup a SKYmail address at a small cost. To find out more about SKYmail call 0800 759343.

Pas 8 ABC Asia Pacific Temp feed on KU has left

From my Emails & ICQ

From Mayadass Brijmohun

Dear craig

Fijian indian community in australia have put efforts together to start a satellite tv channel.
They have website hamaratv.com.

They start broadcasting as from this Sunday 19.00-20.00.FTA

A 90 cms Ku dish is required,but not much details are available.

For all those fans of bollywood,indian news,indian soaps etc,try to scan the skies this sunday 27 oct.

May it will be on Optus B3 Globecast feeds.

Brij , canberra.

(Craigs comment, this taken from their site "Please call (61) 2 9821 1131 or email connection@hamaratv.com to get information about installing HAMARA TV at your premises. To get connected you will require a satellite dish (approx 87cms), digital decoder and smart card. People with existing satellite dish and decoders maybe be able to watch HAMARA TV. Please call us to find out if you can. Only outlay will be installation charges and equipment. HAMARA TV is free to air TV and does not require subscription" there has been no response to my request for info so far.)

From Zapara

Shandong TV on Asiasat2 3856V Sr 6811

It took a couple of minutes to load on the Nokia with the ABW around
5. signal leval is about 50% and slightly skew to the other services?.
Asiasat 2 here is fluctuating randomly in power levels over numerous
transponders. some go weak while others increase then vice versa, has
anybody else noticed that.

Alek

Shandong TV Screenshot

From Lai Chee

Recieving Shandong TV loud and clear in Whyalla South Australia.

Lat 33 02 Long 137 34
2.4 Perfect 10 Dish
SatCruiser 101

Chee

From the Dish

PAS 8 166E 3860 H "SET Taiwan, SET Metro, SET News and Star Chinese" are back ,Viaccess 2, PIDs 410/411, 420/421, 440/441 and 920/921.
PAS 8 166E 4050 VA TVB mux has started , Fta, Sr 13240, Fec3/4, SIDs 1-4,PIDs 1160/1120-1460/1420, line-up: TVB 8, TVBJ test card, TVB Xing He Channel and a test card.

Measat 2 148E 12532 H All channels in the I-Sky-Net mux are encrypted again,except MAC TV and Tzu Chi TV.

Gorizont 33 145E 3731 R "STS (+7h)" has started , Fta, Sr 3200, Fec 3/4, PIDs 4194/4195. (Beam, not Global)

Palapa C2 113E 3926 H "Bali TV" has left .(Anyone confirm?)

Asiasat 2 100.5E 3864 V "CCTV 1" has started , Fta, SR 4420, Fec 7/8, SID 301, PIDs 512/650.
Asiasat 2 100.5E 3923 H Reuters World News Service has moved to 3905 H, Fta, Sr 4000, Fec3/4, PIDs 512/640.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3672 H "Show TV has replaced Kanal 7 International" on , PIDs 2081/2082.

LMI 1 75E 3431 H The occasional feeds have left .

PAS 10 68.5E 3808 V "Ten Sports Pakistan" has started on , Irdeto 2, PIDs 34/40. It's Ten Sports India on PIDs 32/33.

NEWS

New Satellite Makes Debut to End Airwave Hi-jacking

From http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200210/24/eng20021024_105584.shtml

An anti-jamming communications satellite, capable of carrying radio and TV signals to the whole of China and parts of the United States, will be launched at the end of 2004 by a Chinese launch provider, industry executives announced Wednesday in Beijing.

An anti-jamming communications satellite, capable of carrying radio and TV signals to the whole of China and parts of the United States, will be launched at the end of 2004 by a Chinese launch provider, industry executives announced Wednesday in Beijing.

APSTAR VI, made by the French-based Alcatel Space for APT Satellite Co Ltd in Hong Kong, will become China's first foreign-made satellite employing technology to prevent malicious interruptions, corporate officials said at an agreement signing ceremony last night.

"The satellite will be reinforced by state of the art technology to make acts of sabotage technically impossible,'' said Liu Zhixiong, vice-president of the China Great Wall Industry Corp, China's sole launch provider.

Under the agreement struck with APT (HK), the Great Wall firm will place APSTAR VI into orbit atop its Long March-3B launch vehicle at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in the fourth quarter of 2004, Liu said.

With an expected mission life of 13 years, the satellite has 38 C-band and 12 Ku-band transponders which will provide broadcasting and telecommunications services for regions including China, Southeast Asia, Australia and Hawaii of the United States, he said.

The manufacturer, Alcatel Space -- a global space industry leader -- was not available to comment on the launch last night.

The technical reinforcement is a countermeasure following the latest hi-jacking episode in which Falun Gong cult followers, based in Taiwan, illegally interrupted the normal transmissions of SINOSAT-1 owned by Sino Satellite Communications Corp (SINOSAT) last month, according to Liu and other officials.

Min Changning, chief engineer of SINOSAT, a Beijing-based satellite operator, said his company had considered applying high-technology to a new, domestically manufactured satellite to prevent further airwaves hi-jackings.

The satellite is also due to be launched in 2004, Min said in an earlier interview with China Daily.

He Dongfeng, vice-president of APT (HK), said his company chose the Long March rocket as the carrier vehicle because of its reliability and quality service.

Following its first success in 1990, China has carried out 22 commercial launches for overseas customers, placing 27 foreign-manufactured satellites in space, said Zhang Xinxia, president of the Great Wall company.

The Long March 3B -- the most powerful rocket developed in China -- has reported four straight successful launches after its failed first attempt in February 1996, he said.

The Long March rockets are now capable of carrying 5.1 tons of payload into geo-stationary transfer orbit and 9.2 tons of payload into low earth orbit, Zhang said.

"This means that China is well able to send all kinds of satellites into space,'' he said.

The president said launching satellites solely made in Europe has opened new market for China's commercial launch provider.

Billionaire takes on News Corp arm

From http://afr.com/companies/2002/10/24/FFXKAV55M7D.html

A Malaysian billionaire, Ananda Krishnan, has joined a satellite piracy lawsuit against the embattled technology arm of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, NDS Group.

The Los Angeles Times reported overnight that Mr Krishnan's Malaysian satellite group, MEASAT Broadcast Network Systems, had applied last Friday to intervene in proceedings in California between NDS and rival encryption group Canal Plus Technologies.

MEASAT's intervention breathes new life into the case, which was to be dropped as part of a deal struck earlier this month when CPT's parent, Vivendi Communications, sold its Italian pay-TV operation, Telepiù, to News Corp.

No details were available of the claim by MEASAT, which uses CPT encryption smartcards with its Astro satellite pay-TV service in Malaysia. It has an estimated 800,000 subscribers.

Earlier this month, the Financial Times reported that Microsoft had a 10 per cent stake in MEASAT.

MEASAT representatives declined to comment yesterday.

Another CPT customer, ITV Digital in Britain, which collapsed in April, had said earlier this year that it was considering legal action against NDS.

When CPT lodged the case against NDS in March it claimed damages of $US1 billion ($1.8 billion), alleging that NDS had reverse engineered the source code for CPT's smartcards and emailed this to a satellite piracy site in Canada in March 1999, allowing millions of counterfeit smartcards to be produced.

NDS, which has strongly denied the claim, has been hit by a barrage of legal action in the past month. US satellite broadcaster DirecTV sued NDS for fraud, while another satellite broadcaster, EchoStar, applied to intervene in the Canal Plus case, claiming that NDS had also hacked its NagraStar smartcard. Days later, NDS was served with 31 subpoenas for documents by a US grand jury investigating related matters.

NDS has repeatedly denied all allegations, which its says are "baseless and motivated by a desire on the part of certain persons and entities to cause harm to NDS and to thwart legitimate competition from NDS".

Yesterday NDS countersued DirecTV, claiming its ex-customer had misappropriated trade secrets.

Optus B3 156E 12527 V "Retail Radio Network" has started , Irdeto 1, SID 524, Apid 1872.

Measat 2 148E 12532 H Updates in the I-Sky-Net mux, ETTV News has started on PIDs 432/433, 06-20, time sharing with Hot Channel.All channels are Fta, except ETTV News and Hot Channel.Fujian TV has left PIDs 512/513, replaced by a test card.

Agila 2 146E 4070 H New SR and FEC for the mux here : 10455 and 7/8.

PAS 8 166E 12400 V The Taiwanese mux has left (Digicipher 1).