30/09/02

Some changes happening tommorow on B3 Aurora 12532 V various services "moving" to 12407 V. Zee on Globecast remains FTA some changes there should happen Tuesday. They should be adding a well known Hindi channel.

Tarbs U.S service some info coming in. Tarbs are welcome to email me and supply the full info if they wish to.

Just a reminder the mailing list is not for non commercial use, commercial use of the feeds info is NOT acceptable its intended for hobbiest use only. People found to be missusing the mailing list will be banned!

From my Emails & ICQ

From SSS (OPTUS)

Dear All,

We wish to advise that the Radio Italia service provided on the Aurora
platform, was terminated this morning. This was done at the direction of
our customer, Satellite Music Australia.

Any enquiries should be directed to Radio Italia on 02 99588595.
Regards,
Satellite Support Services.
"Yes" Optus
Service Out of this World!

(Craigs comment, I was told a couple of days ago that this ones headed for Pas 8 Tarbs. Not sure if its true or not)

From a U.S satellite forum

The new DHT (DSS)by TARBS currently testing on G10R they are 2 channels there and 1 on PASS 9,the systems will be free to the consuner and free instalation you can have up to 2 receivers and no access fee for the 2 receiver they will start with 56 channels for now, the channels will be FTA till January, after the 1st off the year they will have up to 108 channels and the montly fee for all international and American programing will be $ 34.95 flat rate and all the channels will open one package for all ,some channels from Globcast and Dishnet will move there, the receiver will have 2 common interfase cam slots and the dish will be a Elliptical with 2 LNBS look for more channels to start testing within 2 weeks ,

(Craigs comment, not sure how accurate any of this info is. Probably they will use the dual setup to take the 40 or so U.S channels off a DirectTV satellite, perhaps using the second card slot? Also brings up the question will the other slot have a TARBS MDS cam?)

From Jason

Hi Craig

I have a satellite tv web site up and running.
It's based on what tv services can be received from
my system in Perth. It may be useful to some of your
web visitors and even your self. There is a fast
loading frequency list which also includes relative
signal strength levels(some of the fine details are
still being entered).

You can include the web site address in your links
section of your web site if you wish.

I have included a link to apsattv in my links section.
If you don't want a link to your page just let me
know and I'll take it out.

The site address is as follows :
www.geocities.com/perthsatvision

Regards
Jason

From the Dish

Optus B3 156E 12336 V "SET Asia, Zee TV Australia and Zee Cinema Australia" are Fta at the moment..

Agila 2 146E 3717 H "TCT" has started Fta, Sr 2600, Fec 5/6, PIDs 308/256.
Agila 2 146E 3730 H "RPN 9" has started , enc., Sr 3000, Fec 3/4, SID 9, PIDs 1160/1120.
Agila 2 146E 4072 H "RPN 9 and IBC 13" have left .
Agila 2 146E 4083 H "HTV" has left .

JCSAT 3 128E 3960 V "ETTV Life, Unique Satellite TV, JET TV, SET International and BNE TV Network" are encrypted again.

Koreasat 2 113E Updates on 12530 H: DIY has started on 12530 H, clear, SID 4, PIDs 160/161.Best of Best Home Shopping has replaced Shopping Channel on PIDs 210/211,fta.Radio Korea is Fta.DIY has left 12706 H, moved to 12530 H.

Asiasat 3 105.5E 3900 V "Indus Vision and Indus Music have left " again, replaced by info cards.

Asiasat 2 100.5E 3774 H "Reuters World News Service" has moved from to 3923 H, Fta ,Sr 4000, Fec 3/4.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3610 V "PTV 1 has replaced PTV News" from , 06-17 PKT.

Intelsat 904 60E 4160 RHC "Asian games feeds" Sr 6110 Fec 3/4
Intelsat 904 60E 4173 RHC "Asian games feeds" Sr 6110 Fec 3/4
Intelsat 904 60E 4183 RHC "Asian games feeds" Sr 6110 Fec 3/4

NEWS

Minister plays down pay TV pressure

From http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/09/29/1033283388904.html

Richard Alston believes in allowing the networks to multi-channel sooner rather than later.

Sorry, boys. Richard Alston has a tough new message for the Foxtel partners as they wait to see whether Allan Fels will finally approve their grand pay TV deal with Optus.

If they do get a tick from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission next month, the Minister for Communications clearly thinks it is a good idea to quickly permit the networks to multi-channel sooner rather than later.

That may leave Foxtel spluttering with rage, but Alston seems remarkably relaxed about any claims of unfairness or suggestions it will make it even harder to make pay TV financially viable. Nor will he listen to any argument that the industry was promised several more years at least before it had to face such a threat.

"People always have anticipations and they will always tell you they build their business on a certain basis, which you will disrupt," Alston says.

The real argument is over timing. Foxtel insists the government's commitment was to hold off until after it conducted a review in 2005, effectively putting off multi-channelling until at least January 1, 2007, and that it is only on this basis that the struggling pay TV industry is prepared to spend the $600 million on digitising.

But Alston insists that the government has already conducted its review ahead of time and there is nothing to prevent the government moving earlier.

Alston has been the longest serving Minister for Communications and there's rarely a time when the portfolio is not riven by the pressures of politics, money and influence.

But the situation in telecommunications and media right now is particularly "fluid", to use one of Alston's favourite words.

Is the long battle to sell the rest of Telstra reaching a new stage, courtesy of the brawling Democrats? Will Alston be able to get support for his proposed changes to media laws introduced last week to allow more cross-ownership and foreign control? What does the meltdown in telecommunications markets mean for Australia? Will the deal announced with such fanfare by Foxtel and Optus as the only salvation for pay TV be allowed to happen?

The uncertainty is underpinned by the one enduring reality of the Australian media and telecommunications industry. The familiar big names - Rupert and Lachlan, Kerry and James, little Kerry, Ziggy and Bob and Sam - are linked together in a web of competing interests that it is impossible to unravel.

Nowhere is this more obvious than in pay TV. It's also why Alston's comments on the appeal of multi-channelling are like throwing a political hand grenade into Foxtel headquarters.

Foxtel is 50 per cent owned by Telstra and 25 per cent each by News and PBL. The common view is that the prospect of immediate multi-channelling is a sop to a disgruntled Kerry Stokes of Seven, the only person arguing for it. Stokes is also furious at the pay TV deal and the terms under which Foxtel would permit his offerings to be shown.

But Alston makes it plain he won't be swayed by the complaints that pay TV can't afford to have such competition and that it would be forced to withdraw from its commitment to digitise if multi-channelling goes ahead.

"I think you will find a commitment to digitalisation will be part of the Foxtel-Optus deal," he says. "We will make decisions on the merits, not because people make threats.

"At the end of the day, pays are in the multi-channelling business and if they digitise they will be multi-channelling to the tune of 400 to 500 channels, whereas the most the free-to-airs could muster would be three or four each, so it is fairly one-sided."

And forget crying poor.

"You don't expect to get back a multi-million investment overnight. It's always going to take whatever it might be, 10 or 15 years, to recover," the minister says. "You are in pay TV for the long haul, so the fact that someone hasn't recovered their investment at this point doesn't tell you the thing's a dog."

He also takes aim at the controversial Fox Sports deal where the owners of Fox Sport, News and PBL charge Foxtel dearly for the programming.

"There is also that argument that the other two shareholders apart from Telstra are already getting their money back up-front from programming," he says. "Now no one quite knows how much, but prices that are being paid do seem to be higher than prices generally paid for programming elsewhere.

"So to me it is an argument of convenience to say, simply because we are not making ongoing profits we need ongoing industry protection. This issue is whether this is a viable industry. If it ends up being a quasi-monopoly, well, I think you'd have to say it's got some pretty good prospects over the years because it wouldn't have anyone else to compete with."

So where does this leave all the players? Having already spent $858 million on a pay TV business that has yet to turn a profit, the Foxtel partners want to make sure they're going to get their money back on digital.

Arguing they need "regulatory certainty" for the investment, they've made their promise to digitise conditional on there being "no relevant regulatory change".

Foxtel explicitly states in its proposed undertakings to the ACCC that: "a regulatory change means the government passing legislation which has the effect of allowing open broadcasters to multi-channel prior to January 2007."

So will Australians' hopes of digital pay TV and interactive services be dashed if the government does thumb its nose at the pay TV industry over multi-channelling?

A Foxtel spokesman said yesterday that multi-channelling would massively change the whole broadcasting industry and would mean an about-face by the government.

But while Foxtel boss Kim Williams and his cohorts are big on rhetoric, they won't be pinned down on whether they actually will rescind their digital commitment.

One complication is the differing ambitions among the Foxtel partners despite the attempts to portray themselves as united. Telstra believes that its ability to sell packages of pay TV and telephony services is worth the potential strengthening of Optus as a competitor on the vital local-call loop. But it wouldn't be interested if this ability was restricted by the ACCC. The digital upgrade is also subject to approval by the individual boards of News, PBL and Telstra, and approval by the Foxtel board itself, with whispers the "subject to board approval" line was only inserted at the eleventh hour on Telstra's insistence.

Nor is Telstra the only Foxtel partner with mixed feelings about the Foxtel deal.

As the owner of the Nine Network as well, PBL has an ambivalent attitude. The original pay TV investment was a defensive move, aimed at ensuring whatever advertising dollars Nine Network lost to pay TV would still find their way back to the Packer coffers via Foxtel.

But the way the pay TV machinations are unfolding, Nine could lose out on both counts from the extra competition. Both Nine and Ten are bitterly opposed to multi-channelling, claiming it would further fragment advertising. Given that Nine is Kerry's favourite child in the PBL family, and the big man is now firmly gripping the reins over at Park Street, the spectre of multi-channelling may further weaken his commitment to spending more on pay TV.

And what if the government scraps any idea of issuing a fourth commercial TV licence from 2007 when the current moratorium ends? Even Alston says: "You have got to ask yourself why do you necessarily want to have a fourth channel?"

That would definitely help sweeten the multi-channelling pill for Nine and Ten.

There is also talk that News is already cosying up to Ten on the assumption that cross-media rules will change. According to the conspiracy theory, Foxtel/Optus is approved and multi-channelling is allowed while a fourth commercial TV licence is scrapped. With cross-media rules relaxed, News buys Ten, which most closely resembles the News-owned Fox Network in the US and, like PBL, ends up in competition with itself in Foxtel.

Confused? Alston laughs at all the conspiracy theories, including the one about his imminent departure to London having fixed everyone up.

He insists he has no plans to leave the portfolio. "There are always people in the queue in our business and maybe some dissatisfied customers who would like me to move on," he jokes.

"I think you probably live a lot longer in the portfolio if you have a healthy degree of scepticism, and it saves time."

Foxtel and Neighbourhood Cable deal

From http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=64275

INDEPENDENT broadband cable company Neighbourhood Cable has struck a deal with Foxtel on the provision of pay TV content.

The regional operator said the deal, which would benefit customers in the Victorian towns of Mildura, Ballarat and Geelong, ensured Neighbourhood remained an independent provider of pay TV services.

"We are satisfied that the commercial arrangements between Foxtel and Optus, and between Foxtel and Telstra, will not have a negative impact on our business," Neighbourhood chief operating officer Fred Grossman said.

Mr Grossman said Neighbourhood had been concerned it would lose out as a result of the proposed changes to the industry.

"However, Foxtel has shown that it was prepared to work with us to ensure that we retain our commercial independence, which is good news for our customers and the industry generally," he said.

Foxtel earlier this month gave 12 undertakings to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in a bid to get its pay TV content sharing deal with Optus approved.

The ACCC blocked the original Foxtel-Optus proposal in June, citing potential breaches of the Trade Practices Act in areas including the acquisition of content and the likely dominance of the Foxtel distribution network.

Mr Grossman said he was now confident the "long overdue" restructure of the pay TV industry would benefit consumers and operators.

"We are particularly pleased to see that the restructure will also provide significant benefits to small infrastructure providers such as Neighbourhood Cable," he said.

While the deal with Foxtel was confidential, Mr Grossman said Foxtel had "demonstrated its commitment to fostering a sustainable pay TV industry".

The deadline for submissions on the controversial Foxtel-Optus pay TV deal was last Friday.

Pine Gap gears for war with eye on Iraq

From http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/09/29/1033283389127.html

The top priority for the Australian-US satellite ground station at Pine Gap, near Alice Springs, has been shifted to intelligence gathering in Iraq, including target identification, ahead of a threatened US-led first strike.

Well-placed sources say Pine Gap will also be able to directly transmit information to commanders in Iraq during a conflict. This would include directing the firing of missiles and the dropping of bombs.

In addition, Pine Gap is equipped to detect the launch of any Scud missiles fired by Iraq at its neighbours, including Israel.

Michael McKinley, a strategic analyst at the Australian National University in Canberra, said yesterday that the US had been boosting its satellite capability since the 1991 Gulf War, including the level of information feeding into Pine Gap.

"What you are looking at with Pine Gap is a lot of signals intercepts and photo reconnaissance," he said.

"Certainly in relation to identifying specific targets, Pine Gap is important. The Pine Gap contribution is very much more significant than any sending of Australian soldiers.

"The public record concerning the functions of Pine Gap does not leave any doubt that there is a contribution being made now."

In the event of a war, Dr McKinley said, Pine Gap would have a wider role in missile intercept operations. "It will be part of the regional missile defence system."

During the Gulf War, Israeli reports praised Australia for relaying Scud missile launch warnings from the Nurrungar joint US-Australian facility in South Australia, but that task has now been assigned to Pine Gap.

"I think it is prudent to assume they still have some Scud missiles," Dr McKinley said.

The Defence Minister, Robert Hill, last month visited Pine Gap, which is one of the world's largest and most advanced satellite ground stations.

At Pine Gap there are senior US personnel from the National Security Agency, the leading signals interception body, the National Reconnaissance Office, which operates intelligence satellites, and the CIA.

It has 26 antennas, 14 of them with white domes, and accompanying the huge technological upgrade has been a big increase to more than 850 Australian and US personnel.

The senior Australian official is John McCarthy, who had a previous stint at Pine Gap during the Gulf War.

Dr Ron Huisken, a former director-general of alliance policy at the Australian Department of Defence who had responsibility for Pine Gap, said yesterday that the importance of the ground station had been enhanced since the September 11 attacks.

"With the imminent prospect of an attack on Iraq, it will now be the top priority for Pine Gap. It does not just become important when the firing starts; as an intelligence facility it does a lot of work before the conflict."

Pine Gap already receives intelligence information from three geo-stationary satellites over the Indian Ocean, and another satellite above Indonesia is to be linked to the ground station this year.

It can intercept a range of microwave communications - including mobile telephone, telex and the Internet - and is now tapping into the transmission of information related to Iraqi military planning.

The sophisticated new antennas mean that Pine Gap is also able to locate mobile radio and radar transmitters.

During a military campaign against Iraq, dissemination of targeting and other information from Pine Gap to commanders in the field would be aided by specialist US cryptologic personnel already stationed there.

Warriors fans in the dark

From http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2065789a11,00.html

League fans were feeling as wild as the weather last night when Sky's television service was interrupted in the middle of the historic Warriors game.

Thunderstorms swept across the North Island as a cold front rolled eastward.

Sky chief executive John Fellet couldn't say how many fans were left without a picture during the Warriors NRL semifinal clash with the Sharks.

He said customers with UHF connections lost their picture for a few seconds because of power cuts.

Those with the digital service had worse luck as satellite images struggled to pierce the thunder clouds, causing several frustrating interruptions.

More than 2000 households in Matangi, near Hamilton, lost power for 10 minutes at 6.24pm, leaving fans turning to their battery-powered radios for the latest score.

IPSTAR SATELLITE: Launch quandary for ShinSat

From http://www.nationmultimedia.com/page.news.php3?clid=6&theme=A&usrsess=1&id=1543

Company in the dark about whether Transport Ministry or NTC will give it the best royalty deal after blast-off

Shin Satellite is having a difficult time deciding if its iPSTAR satellite should be launched late next year under its |existing Transport and Com-|munications Ministry concession or under a licence from the national telecom regulator, which may or may not be in existence by that time.

ShinSat needs to bag either a concession or a license before the scheduled blast-off of the US$250 million (Bt100 billion) broadband Internet satellite - Asia's first - or risk losing foreign financing and its 120-degree East orbital slot for the bird.

ShinSat executive chairman Dumrong Kasemseth said the company does not know whether to wait for the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), the creation of which remains shrouded in confusion.

A telecom industry source said ShinSat is in a quandary, as it has no idea whether paying annual licensing fees to the proposed NTC would be less expensive than paying annual royalties to the ministry.

"Plus, nobody knows for sure when the NTC will be formed," the source said.

Last year ShinSat told the ministry that iPSTAR Co preferred to apply for an NTC license. If ShinSat is forced to include iPSTAR as part of its concession with its existing three Thaicom satellites, the new bird would get cooped up in the telecom concession conversion process.

To facilitate this, iPSTAR Co was set up to operate iPSTAR separately from the Thaicoms.

ShinSat's 30-year concession from the ministry requires it to pay a royalty of 15.5 per cent of its orbiting satellites' combined revenues during the 2001-2006 period. Thereafter the rate rises to 17.5 per cent until 2011, 20.5 per cent in the 2011-2016 period and 22.5 per cent until 2021.

"Last year ShinSat paid Bt570 million to the ministry out of its Bt5.14 billion total revenues and Bt1.56 billion profit. This year it is expected to pay Bt800 million to the ministry," a telecom analyst at a foreign brokerage said.

The former satellite monopoly earned Bt804 million in profit on Bt2.42 billion in sales during the first half of this year.

The conversion process is mainly aimed at freeing all telecom players from having to pay hefty royalties to the state telecom agencies.

The original conversion plan had the telecom firms handing over to the state telecoms the equivalent of their royalties over the remaining life of their concessions in one lump sum in return for a release from paying annual instalments.

But the conversion process was aborted early this year, following public criticism that the conversion guidelines favoured certain telecoms.

"However, we still have some time to think about iPSTAR's future," Dumrong said.

Dumrong can relax. A source at the communications ministry said the ministry recently told ShinSat, which was founded by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, that it would welcome iPSTAR at any time if it wants to enter its concession.

India to launch 8 more satellites

From http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/articleshow?artid=23703056

MUMBAI: India will have more powerful eyes in the sky in the coming years. They will focus on oceans, forests and the weather.

Eight indigenously-developed remote sensing satellites with enhanced capabilities are slated to go into orbit, chairperson of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) K.Kasturirangan told TNN on Saturday.

These will add to similar satellites which India has already placed in orbit in previous years. India will then operate one of the largest families of remote sensing satellites.

He said these new-generation satellites will be carried by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The satellite to be used for mapping has been designated as “Cartosat-2,’’ and there will be two such missions. The one which will carry out ocean studies is called “Oceansat,’’ and there will be a meteorological satellite.

The launch of this advanced meteorological satellite will follow “Metsat,’’ an indigenously-developed weather satellite, which was placed in orbit on September 24. It may be recalled that it was carried by the PSLV launched from Sriharikota on September 12.

He said that in mid-2003 a satellite designated as “Resourcesat,’’ will be put into orbit by the PSLV. Its mission will be mainly related to agriculture.

The ISRO chief said that the capabilities of future INSAT satellites were being strengthened in order to provide among other things improved internet connectivity.

The INSAT-3A satellite will be put in orbit towards the end of this year or the beginning of next year. It will be carried by an Ariane rocket from the European spaceport of Kourou in French Guyana.

The launch of the second Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle will take place in the first quarter of 2003 from Sriharikota. It will put in orbit an experimental communication satellite, “G SAT-2,’’ which will have among its payload an instrument developed at the TIFR for studying the sun.

29/09/02

No update Sundays

28/09/02

Zee Channels on B3 remain FTA at the moment due to a minor problem they had on Friday. As is the usual case they switch the encryption off due to it being the weekend and nobody is available for phone support. Look for changes to this mux next week.

Humaxes being recalled not sure about this what it involves. I wonder if they recall ALL units, if they can refuse to take back units that have been "modified" that certainly could cause problems!

From my Emails & ICQ

From Yudi

Palapa C2 all the 4040 H mux have gone.......

From Bill Richards

Pas 2

2120 UTC

4090 V Sr 21000 Fec 3/4
Vpid512 Apid640 SID1 NITV
Vpid513 Apid641 SID2 TVC Chile
Vpid514 Apid642 SID3 Colour Test Card
Vpid515 Apid643 SID4 Colour Test Card
Vpid516 Apid644 SID5 Colour Test Card
Vpid517 Apid645 SID6 Colour Test Card
Vpid518 Apid646 SID7 Colour Test Card
Vpid519 Apid647 SID8 Colour Test Card
Vpid520 Apid648 SID9 Colour Test Card

Also Radio Chs RAD01 - RAD09 pids 660 SID10 thru to 668 SID18 no audio yet.

All FTA

I suspect perhaps a TARBS Mux here going by the Labeling used for the Radio Chs.

Regards
Bill

From various people Saturday

1.30pm Syd time

B1, 12420V Sr 6980 Fec 3/4 "Afl related"
B1, 12430V Sr 6110 Fec 3/4 "Afl related"

From Lindsay MUGGRIDGE

AFL Grand Final now Live on ABC Asia Pacific FTA

Cheers,
Lindsay MUGGRIDGE
VK6KID
Perth
Western Australia

From John Mcdermot 27/09/02

Optus B1 12430V Sr 6980 Nunyar FB - blank screen at present.VPID 308 APID 256

From MChung

Dear Sir,

The TVBS Mux is also avaiable at Pas 8 C band now at 3836 V 22000 3/4 .

TVBS Vid 160 Aud 80 PCR 160
TVBS News Vid 161 AUD 84 PCR 161.
TVBS Gold VID 162 AUD 88 PCR 162
Much Vid 163 AUD 92 PCR 163
Era News VID 164 AUD 96 PCR 164
Asia VID 166 AUD 100 PCR 166
TVBS-News USA (FTA) VID 166 AUD 104 PCR 166
Asia Plus Vid 167 Aud 108 PCR 167.

Regards,
Mathew Chung

From the Dish

PAS 2 169E 3901 H "TV Chile" has left , replaced by a test card.
PAS 2 169E 4090 V A new mux has started Fta, Sr 21000, Fec 3/4, SIDs 1-9,PIDs 512/640-520/648, line-up: NITV, TV Chile and seven test cards.

PAS 8 166E 3836 V An Era Bouquet has started on , Viaccess 1, Sr 22000, Fec 3/4,PIDs 160/80-167/108, line-up: TVBS, TVBS Newsnet, TVBS Golden, Much TV,ERA News, TVBS Asia, TVBS Newsnet USA (Fta) and Asia Plus.

Asiasat 3 105.5E 3900 V "Indus Vision and Indus Music" are back ,Fta, Sr 27900, Fec 7/8, PIDs 1220/1221 and 1230/1231.

Gorizont 31 103E 3675 R "Telekanal Rossiya" has started on , SECAM, 7.00 MHz.

ST 1 88E 3582 H "TVBS has again replaced TVBS Asia", enc., PIDs 38/39.

Express 6A 80E 4125 R "TV XXI is encrypted again".

NEWS

HUMAX recalls set-top boxes :

From http://www.humaxdigital.com/whatsnew/news_sub2002.htm#020927

Sept 27, 2002 - Around 40,000 IRCI STBs recall worldwide

HUMAX Co., Ltd. (www.humaxdigital.com), one of the world leading digital
set-top box manufacturers, announced today to recall approximately 40,000
set-top boxes, including products in the distribution networks worldwide.

Along with the anti-piracy movement of broadcasting operators and CAS
(Conditional Access System) companies, HUMAX continues to only support
legal applications by recalling the product IRCI that is known to be
vulnerable to pirate intruders.

Underneath this recall event lies HUMAX's strong will and leading position
against illegal activities that are currently deteriorating the growth of
healthy PayTV market. The recalled IRCI products are to be strengthened
with enhanced security features.

Pubtabs given ray of hope

From http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/09/26/1032734276594.html

Talks between Racing Victoria Ltd and the Australian Hotels Association might have temporarily averted the planned shutdown of many of the state's Pubtab outlets from Monday.

Although RVL chief executive Neville Fielke said his meeting on Wednesday night with AHA representatives was "open and productive", AHA president Alan Giles said yesterday it was up the individual operators whether they maintained Pubtab services.

The AHA warned last month that October 1 was the deadline for some resolution in the long-running issue involving Pubtabs.

Fielke made it clear yesterday that RVL could not go it alone in dealing with the Pubtab dispute and it was up to Tabcorp and Sky Channel to come to the party.

He said a solution could be reached provided that there was cooperation between all parties involved.

But Tabcorp's general manager (marketing and sales) Jamie Powell said yesterday he believed all the problems with Pubtab operations, which make up the bulk of Tabcorp's retail wagering network, stemmed from the cost of the Sky Channel picture.

"We are working as closely as we possibly can with Racing Victoria and the Pubtab operators but the cost of Sky Channel remains the basic issue," Powell said.

Fielke said the RVL view was that the dispute had to be settled to the benefit of the punter "first and foremost", but any solution had to also address as a priority the needs of Pubtab operators in country Victoria.

"Any suggestion that there is a one-size-fits-all solution to this dispute is simplistic and not workable, as there is no such thing as an average Pubtab," Fielke said.

He said that while RVL was still completing the details of the resolution proposal, the broad outline put to the AHA was geared towards long-term benefits to the Pubtab operators and a fundamental assessment of the distribution network.

"We are not interested in a Band-Aid fix," Fielke said.

In earlier talks, Fielke had described the AHA's claims that $23 million was needed to make the Pubtab network viable as unrealistic.

Giles said the AHA position was that the figure was not unreasonable in terms of the returns to Tabcorp and the racing industry from betting turnover and that it would take at least $15 million to prevent the gradual degeneration of the Pubtab network as operators cut costs.

Fielke said RVL had called a summit meeting of all the parties concerned in the next fortnight.

Police probe Wulai for source of suspicious signals

From http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/09/28/story/0000169883

Taiwan officials yesterday responded to Chinese claims that signals interfering with transmissions from its SINOSAT satellite originated in Wulai, 45km outside of Taipei.

Personnel from the Directorate General of Telecommunications of the Ministry of Transportation and Communication inspected the area yesterday, accompanied by two policemen from the telecommunications police force who were equipped with measuring equipment.

The group first probed Fushan Primary School for suspicious transmissions. Fushan is located 8km from the coordinates that China has given, which places the alleged source of interference in the vicinity of the Tana farm and the Neitung recreational area in the Wulai mountain protectorate.

Technical personnel said that if a suspicious signal was detected, the area could be narrowed down and the source could then be located by measuring the signal's strength.

To find the signal, however, measuring equipment would have to be aimed directly at the transmission link, which would have to be transmitting actively at the time. If the source was mobile, it would be very difficult to locate.

The Directorate General has also dispatched six vehicles equipped with measuring equipment to patrol the mountain areas in Wulai and Yangming Mountain in Taipei.

The Taipei Prosecutors Office says that interfering with normal transmissions is a violation of the Criminal Code that can lead to a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

In related news, Wu Le-tian, who yesterday claimed to be responsible for Falun Gong transmissions which China claims have interfered with its transmissions, was arrested in a hotel in Shihlin yesterday. Wu was also wanted by the Shihlin Prosecutors Office for libel.

MEN to add four channels by November

From http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k2/sep/sep137.htm

Modi Entertainment Network expects to add four channels to its bouquet by November.

The distribution network, which has national broadcaster Doordarshan's DD Sports, the Dubai-based Taj Entertainment Network's Ten Sports, the Hallmark channel and the two French channels Fashion TV and music channel MCM as part of its bouquet, will be adding on four more channels by November, Rajan Kaaicker, CEO distribution group, MEN, told indiantelevision.com today.

Kaaicker, said discussions were at an advanced stage and the new additions would include a sports channel, a news channel, and two music channels catering to separate categories. Kaaicker, while refusing to divulge the names of the channels, however, described them as "amongst the best of the best" in their individual categories. Queried as to whether the channels would include any standalone channels already available in India, Kaaicker was however, noncommital.

27/09/02

Not much to finish the week with, I heard a whisper of new channels on B3 next week.
.

From my Emails & ICQ

Nothing to report

From the Dish

Pas 2 169E 4080 V "NITV" Sr 21200, Fec 7/8 ( not sure how accurate this one is it came from Satcodx.

Gorizont 31 103E Gorizont 31 has arrived at 103 East.

PAS 10 68.5E 3836 H "A KTN promo has started", Fta, PIDs 39/42.

Express A1R 40E 3675 R "Two test cards have started" , Fta, SIDs 1-2, PIDs 512/650-513/660.

NEWS

Gilat To Provide Shared Hubs Services Via Satellite To JSAT

From http://www.spacedaily.com/news/vsat-02o.html

Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. today announced it has been selected by JSAT Corporation to install a Skystar Advantage hub and two-way satellite communications network.

JSAT intends to use the VSAT equipment to provide shared-hub services to companies in a variety of industries throughout Japan. JSAT, Japan's largest satellite operator and the largest satellite operator in Asia, supplies communications and broadcasting services through eight satellites positioned in seven orbital slots.

Norikazu Yabushita, Executive Officer for Sales & Marketing Group, said, "JSAT is confident that the demand for VSAT networking services in Japan will grow and is committed to becoming one of the country's leading shared-hub service providers. Gilat's two-way VSAT platform provides an excellent solution for the various types of applications we provide."

Erez Antebi, Gilat's General Manager for Asia, Africa and Pacific Rim, said, "With this agreement, we continue our strong relationship with Japan's leading satellite operator. This contract also demonstrates Gilat's continued expansion of its business in Japan. We look forward to working closely with JSAT to ensure the highest possible level of service for their company and their customers."

Antebi Added, "Tens of thousands of users throughout Asia now have access to Gilat VSAT technology in the enterprise computing, rural telephony and Internet markets. It is rewarding to know that our technology will be used to bring the power of VSAT technology - with its data and voice applications - to users throughout Japan. Continuing our successful relationship with JSAT helps ensure we will maintain our leadership in the Japanese VSAT market."

Satellite hacking easy with know-how, experts say

From http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/Weekly2002/09.24.2002/China3.htm

It would be easy for someone with a little expertise to hijack a mainland television satellite, telecommunications experts said.

Roger Smith, of the Geneva-based International Telecommunications Union, said the culprits would need to know the coverage area of the satellite, its frequency band and the location from where its signals were normally transmitted. "It's just like a reflected mirror in terms of electronic signals," he said.

Mr Smith said the hijackers would have had to deal with security measures such as access codes. "An amateur can't beam TV signals via the satellites as there is a complicated decoding method involved," said Cheung Sing-wai, associate professor with the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Hong Kong University.

In all the cases where Falun Gong messages have been beamed over hijacked mainland satellites, it was reported that those responsible had the access codes, rendering the security system useless.

The observers said it was technically possible for a government to pinpoint the source of a hacking attempt, but it would be difficult to arrest a suspect. Most countries had the technology to trace the source of rogue signals, Mr Smith said.

However, an official in Taipei said finding the hackers would not be easy. Lin Ching-chih, of the Ministry of Transport and Communication, said Taiwanese authorities had been unable to make an arrest.

He said the hackers could have used a moving vehicle as a platform for transmission.

26/09/02

Sorry for the late update I have been playing with a new KU LNBF. This one was tested by a Technician in NZ along with 22 others! it was only beaten in performance by a 0.3 dB NF unit from the U.K! It's a BK525 from Taiwan (also sold as Autosat) and get this the sticker says 1.0 dB Noise figure but in reality its more like a 0.5. As you know I have a 90cm and 76cm for Ku. With the Bk525 on the 76cm its beating all my previous highest signal levels off the 90cm/Hills Lnbf combo. It does better than the Sharp I usually use as well. But before you rush out and try to find one just a reminder there can be a wide variation in LNBF performance even if from the same batch so please don't think that all BK525 1.0 dB Noise figure LNBF'S perform as good as this one. If anyone locates a batch of the hot performing ones please let me know. A followup article about LNBF's will appear in a few weeks

Sorry about the news section, Google news is down

Some figures below off the Nokias tuner, yes I know pretty meaningless but I will do REAL figures once I get my meter.

For those who Don't understand how it works Nokias signal levels reported in Hex, e.g goes 69,6A,6B.6C,6D,6E,6F then 70

Optus B3 with 90cm and Hills LNBF best readings

12336 V 6E
12407 V 7C
12532 V 71
12658 V 75

Optus B3 with 76cm and BK525 LNBF best readings

12336 V 6B
12407 V 80
12532 V 76
12658 V 76

Now some figures from today, unfortunatly it was overcast and raining, so figures probably lower than they should be

Optus B3 with 90cm and BK525 LNBF

12336 V 6E
12407 V 86
12532 V 7F
12658 V 7F

From My Emails & ICQ

From Zahra

I need an e-mail address of Kti Satellite Dish Company in Dubai.

Thank you in advance

(Craigs comment, try here http://www.ktidish.com/contact_information.htm )

From Zapara

Seen on Panamsat 10 last night

(Craigs comment, this is due to program rights issues SET MAX channel has the rights this tournament. Dordashan only has the terrestrial rights. Its quite obvious as to why they had to move off the Wide beam)

From George (Thailand)

Pas 8 3836 V 22000 TVBS mux confirmed same as Pas 2

From the Dish

Optus B1 160E 12320 V "Data" Sr 8000 Fec 1/2, back?

Asiasat 3 105.5E 3900 V "Indus Vision and Indus Music" have left , moved to 3760 H.

Express A1R 40E 3675 R "Kultura Telekanal" has started on , Fta, Sr 29755, Fec 7/8, SID 3, PIDs 514/670.

(Can anyone in Western Aus get this one, I know its low but check the footprint maps)

NEWS

Digital advertising access to regions now possible

From www.nzherald.co.nz

Advertisers can now access regional TVNZ advertising through the Sky Digital service.

Advertisers have six regional options through TVNZ's free-to-air network, but only the Auckland region has been available through Sky Digital.

There will be three Sky Digital regional advertising areas, one covering the South Island and two in the North Island.

Sky and TVNZ signed a deal in July to offer regional advertising on Sky Digital.

25/09/02

Thanks to all who turned up in chatroom. Interesting to hear that some would be prepared to pay $20 a month for a single ethnic channel vs $62 a month for maybe 3. Providing the channel was a top quality one and not some 3rd rate noname channel.

The Asian games are due to start shortly, so there should be some feeds up there hopefully, also reguler coverage will be on RTM1 Malysia (Analog, FTA 91.5E) and also Doordashan (83E)

Sky NZ seems to be getting all worked up over the fact that they have renamed the unpopular Sundance channel it still sounds unappealing. Have to wait and see what the new schedule for it is like.

There are actual new channels due to come to Sky by the end of the year. Shine TV, and also a Rural TV channel. Also where is Disney? perhaps they are planning to launch that at Christmas?

From my Email & ICQ

Nothing to report

From the Dish

Pas 8 166E 3836 V "Mystery possibly TVBS new mux test" Sr 22000 Fec 3/4
Pas 8 166E 3974 V "Discovery and Animal planet test feed?" Sr 6620 Fec 2/3

Optus B1 160E 12420 V Analog ? seen last night?

Yamal 102 90E 3714 L The Russkij Paket is now encrypted.
Yamal 102 90E 3725 L Radio Rossii has started fta, APID 256.

ST 1 88E 3582 H "TVBS Asia has replaced TVBS" , enc., PIDs 38/39.

LMI 1 75E 3459 H "TV Lanka and the occasional feeds" have left .

NSS 703 57E 3980 R "GCV, Sun International and Surya International" have started on ,Irdeto, PIDs 52/51, 70/69 and 73/72.

NEWS

RIALTO COMES TO THE SMALL SCREEN

From http://www.skytv.co.nz/index.cfm?pageid=213

The all-new Rialto Channel is to launch on SKY from November 1, featuring a mix of movies, documentaries and entertainment programming.

Headlining the new Rialto Channel are some fantastic key film titles that have seen great success at the Rialto Cinema. Darren Aronofsky's acclaimed REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, starring Golden Globe winner Jennifer Connelly, the Academy Award Winning Foreign Film, NO MANS LAND, and the hilarious spoof on Hollywood film making STATE AND MAIN, starring Sarah Jessica Parker are just some of the many new titles that will be seen for the first time on New Zealand television on Rialto Channel.

Rialto Channel has also secured huge hits such as THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and the recently critically acclaimed GOSFORD PARK, one of Rialto Cinemas' top movies of 2002.

Commitment to New Zealand product is also a feature of the channel's programming with both the acclaimed Kiwi films RAIN by director Christine Jeffs, and the 2001 Best Film of the Year, SNAKESKIN debuting exclusively on Rialto. Rialto Channel is committed to supporting young up-coming New Zealand filmmakers by screening short films from various technical institutes & film schools throughout the country.

The most watched documentary series in America ever, Ken Burns' BASEBALL will be a highlight of Rialto Channel's new line-up of documentaries and entertainment. Burns, the director/producer of previous high-rater, JAZZ, won an Emmy for his epic nine episode series on the history of Baseball, which not only examines the sport but also gives remarkable insight into the national psyche of Americans.

New series entitled MUSIC BEHIND THE SCENES, and FILM GENERE documenting how music is created for film plus regular screenings of LATER WITH JOOLS HOLLAND, flesh out the entertainment line-up.

Previously operating as Sundance under a licensing arrangement with Sundance Channel in the United States, the all-new Rialto Channel will retain important working contacts with Sundance US. The channel has a long term and valued relationship with SKY Television, however, it has always been privately owned and programmed in New Zealand.

The re-brand and re-launch heralds the closer relationship with Rialto Entertainment, the driving force behind the channels sister cinema chain Rialto Cinemas and independent film distribution company, Essential Films, headed by Kelly Rogers and David Ross.

The decision to re-launch the channel co-coincides with the now 50 percent shareholding of new investor, Andrew Hawken.

Hawken, who was a previous founding shareholder with successful electricity retailer Empower, is delighted to be involved with the Rialto Channel, through a keen interest in the entertainment sector.

Says Hawken, "we are committed to constant improvement in content, showing proven quality films as well as gems discovered at the festivals around the world".

SKY Chief Executive John Fellet is very excited about the new relationship with such a strong New Zealand brand as 'Rialto'. Since the inception of Sundance Channel in 1999, it has proven itself as a very important addition to the Sky service" says Fellet.

"I have no doubt that Rialto Channels new content lineup will provide a fantastic venue for New Zealand entertainment seekers".

Management of the channel will remain unchanged with Glenn Usmar as Channel Programmer and Shona Dale as General Manager.

Ends:

For further information contact:
Shona Dale, General Manager, Sundance Channel
Ph: (09) 525 8315
Mb: 027 280 9520
sdale@sundance.co.nz

Helen Goudge, Marketing Manager, Rialto Cinemas
Ph: (09) 306 0226
Mb: 027 4468 343
helen@rialtocinemas.co.nz

SKY TV Launches Rialto Channel

From http://xtramsn.co.nz/entertainment/0,,3911-1787248,00.html

The all-new Rialto Channel is to launch on SKY from November 1. The Sundance Channel will re-brand and re-launch under the name of its key shareholder Rialto Entertainment, aligning the channel more closely with its sister cinema chain, Rialto Cinemas.

Rialto Entertainment, headed by directors David Ross and Kelly Rogers, is the driving force behind the successful national chain of cinemas Rialto Cinemas, and also owns the independent film distribution company, Essential Films.

Rialto Channel will maintain its current content of independent and festival film product however, the closer association with Rialto Entertainment will give the channel greater opportunities to broaden its programming with access to new and better film titles.

The channel previously operated as Sundance under a licencing arrangement with Sundance in the United States, with whom it will retain important working contacts. The channel has a long term and valued relationship with SKY Television, however, it has always been privately owned and programmed in New Zealand.

The decision to change the name of the channel and improve its content co-coincides with the now 50 percent shareholding of new investor, Andrew Hawken who recently purchased the combined shareholdings of former Force Corporation majority shareholder Peter Francis, Auckland Health Chairman Wayne Brown and John Barnett the Managing Director of South Pacific Pictures.

Hawken, who was a founding shareholder with successful electricity retailer Empower, is excited about being involved with the Rialto Channel, mainly through a keen interest in the entertainment sector.

"The Rialto cinema chain is established throughout New Zealand and has an outstanding brand recommendation," says Hawken. "The types of films shown at Rialto cinemas, are the same types shown on Sundance so it was logical to bring the two organisations together under one consistent name."

Under Hawken and Rialto Entertainment, the channel has already seen an increase to its subscriber base by 30%, making it currently one of Sky's top performers.

Hawken brings sales and marketing expertise to the venture from his proven success with Empower while Rialto Entertainment can source the best movie titles from around the world.

Hawken explains, "the name Rialto will be synonymous as New Zealand's brand leader of the best in quality movies, documentaries and entertainment on the small and the big screen".

SKY Chief Executive Officer John Fellet, is very excited about the new relationship with such a strong New Zealand brand as 'Rialto'.

"Since the inception of Sundance Channel in 1999, it has proven itself as a very important addition to the Sky service", says Fellet.

"I have no doubt that the new content lineup along with the valued brand will offer our subscribers an exceptional movie & entertainment service that will see the channel continue to grow from strength to strength."

Management of the channel will remain unchanged with Glenn Usmar as Channel Programmer and Shona Dale as General Manager.

PubTABs set to ditch Sky Channel

From http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,5164269%255E10048,00.html

AS MANY as 60 PubTAB operators are ready to switch off and drop out by Monday.

The PubTABs gave the racing industry an ultimatum in late August that unless the cost of the live Sky Channel feed and Tabcorp operating overheads were reduced by October 1, many of the state's 484 PubTAB operators could walk away from the service.

And in the lead-up to the spring carnival, thy are now planning to do exactly that.

Between 50 and 60 PubTABs, including some major operators, will cease betting and turn off the Sky Channel picture by Monday's deadline.

Australian Hoteliers Association chief executive Alan Giles said unless measures were taken, further PubTABs would follow suit at the end of next month.

Racing Victoria chairman Graham Duff wants the matter resolved immediately. He said all parties were talking through the issues and RV chief executive Neville Fielke would meet Giles this afternoon.

Earlier this week, representatives from the three racing codes met to discuss the issue.

Racing Victoria is confident it can arrange a meeting for all parties involved in the dispute in the next fortnight and resolve the issue.

"Without getting into any specifics, we are trying very, very hard to find common ground," Duff said. "Our attitude is that we don't want any PubTABs to close."

Duff said Racing Victoria was working towards a long-term solution and not just a Band-Aid one.

"We want to get all the parties to the table and we can all lay out our concerns and thoughts on the future," he said.

Giles said the two main problems were the cost of overheads in hotels and the cost of the Sky Channel picture.

"Tabcorp have come back to us with a number of cost-cutting suggestions, but in the finish all they do is run down the service for the punter," he said.

Giles said he had given his members the option of either continuing to deliver the service at a loss, or cease operations.

He said his members were looking for a reduction in Sky Channel costs -- which he believed should be cut in half -- and a boost in Tabcorp betting commissions

He said the racing industry should subsidise the picture provided by Sky Channel.

Wagering Tabcorp general manager of marketing and sales Jamie Powell said, in his view, the only problem was Sky Channel's exorbitant fees.

"We are trying to help the retailers cut their costs and most operators are keen to work with us. Not all operators are running at a loss," he said.

Falun Gong again hack China TV

From http://asia.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/09/24/china.falungong.ap/

China views Falun Gong as an evil cult and direct threat to its rule

BEIJING, China (AP) -- Supporters of the outlawed Falun Gong movement have hacked into China's top TV satellite system, beaming flashes of their own material across the vast land during programming aimed at millions of rural Chinese.

In a full-throttled condemnation Tuesday night on its national newscast and through its official news agency, the Chinese government blamed a pirated broadcast operation from Taiwan for the "TV hijacking" and demanded authorities on the island track down and punish the culprits.

"Why do some Falun Gong die-hards dare to blemish modern civilization in such a barefaced manner?" the Xinhua News Agency said in a blistering editorial that accompanied a 1,100-word report about the incursion.

Xinhua said the commandeering of a signal from Sino Satellite, or Sinosat, began September 9 and affected signals of a service designed to enable remote villages to see broadcasts from China Central Television, or CCTV, the leading government-run network.

The hacking also interrupted transmission of the China Education TV Station and some provincial-level TV stations, Xinhua said.

It cut off television entirely for viewers in some rural and mountainous areas. Other interruptions happened Saturday during China's Moon Festival, Xinhua said.

"This seriously damaged the rights and interests of the audience and affected the normal education order of schools as well as the learning activities of students," Zhang Tianlin, vice president of the education station, was quoted as saying.

Broadcasts promoting Falun Gong flashed for some moments on five TV channels, broadcast officials said, and service interruptions continued for more than an hour.

It was unclear if the interruptions were caused by Falun Gong itself or by attempts to block its broadcasts.

Falun Gong has made a practice in recent months of hacking into local TV feeds and broadcasts, often broadcasting pirate transmissions to tout the benefits of the group and persuade the citizenry that Chinese authorities have treated it unfairly.

China says such transmissions have "disrupted the public order" and go against international communications standards.

The television break-ins have embarrassed the government, which calls the protest videos "reactionary propaganda" and says they threaten social stability. It considers Falun Gong -- and the support it has -- a direct threat to communist rule.

Levi Browde, a U.S.-based Falun Gong spokesman, said he had no information about any transmissions originating from Taiwan -- or any made in recent days. But he praised the "heroic act," which he said was not internationally orchestrated.

"In the environment they're in, they have no voice on TV, radio or any media in China," Browde said.

Such a broadcast "pulls back the veil on the lies and deception upon which the propaganda campaign against Falun Gong has been built."

No immediate Taiwan response

Previous hackings have targeted cities and regions, but this appears to be the first time Falun Gong supporters have breached such a widely distributed nationwide signal.

Officials said they were certain the hacking originated in Taiwan.

An official with the Taiwan Affairs Office, which handles relations with the island's government, said Taiwan authorities must track down and punish the hackers.

"The Taiwan side is responsible for stopping the criminal activity immediately," said the official, whom Xinhua did not name.

In Taipei, Taiwan's government did not immediately respond to the accusation.

Though Taiwan operates as a sovereign nation, Beijing considers it part of China and referred to the hacking as originating in "Taiwan province."

John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, an organization that follows security issues, said jamming broadcasts is expensive and requires expertise, but is not difficult, though replacing them with your own is quite challenging.

Long sentences

"It's definitely not something you could try at home. You could not do it from your backyard," Pike said. "It would have to be somebody who had a lot of money and also had a location they thought they could do it from without getting immediately caught."

To combat such incidents, Pike said the Chinese government could transmit at higher power or could appeal to the government where the rogue transmissions originate, which, under international law, would be obligated to take action.

Last week, 15 people convicted of breaking into a cable system to show Falun Gong videos were sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.

The sentences were among the longest yet imposed in the campaign to crush the spiritual movement, which had millions of followers before it was banned.

Thousands of Falun Gong followers have been detained since the group was outlawed in 1999.

Most are released after a few months, though a government official told The Associated Press earlier this year that nearly 1,300 had been sentenced to prison.

Indosat bid winner to be announced in Dec

From http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,2276,58554,00.html

Prospective buyers to submit non-binding bids by last week of Oct

THE Indonesian government plans to announce by mid-December the winning bidder in its sale of a 42 per cent stake in PT Indonesian Satellite Corp, the State Enterprise Ministry said in a statement.

Prospective buyers of the stake - including ST Telemedia - in Indonesia's main international call operator will submit non-binding bids by the last week of October, according to the ministry's proposed timetable. The government will pick short-listed bidders that week.

Their final bids are due by the fourth week of November, the statement added.

The government, which owns 56.9 per cent of Indosat, plans to sell most of that to help plug a 40.5 trillion rupiah (S$8 billion) Budget deficit this year.

Indonesia plans to distribute a prospectus on the company to potential bidders this week, said a government official at the State Enterprise Ministry. Credit Suisse First Boston and PT Danareksa Sekuritas are advising the government in the sale.

Earlier this month, the government met a number of telecommunications companies, including Telekom Malaysia and Singapore Technologies Telemedia, to promote the sale. Last week, Australia's Telstra Corp also said it may consider bidding for Indosat.

Meanwhile, PT Indonesian Satellite Corp said its audited first-half profit fell 13 per cent on higher operating costs.

Indosat, the seventh-largest Indonesian company by market value, earned 525 billion rupiah, or 507.11 rupiah basic earnings per share, in the half, it said in a statement published in newspapers.

It restated first-half 2001 profit to 604 billion rupiah from 654 billion rupiah it had reported in October.

Operating costs rose 53 per cent to 2.24 trillion rupiah. First-half sales rose 26 per cent to 3.16 trillion rupiah from a revised 2.50 trillion rupiah in the year-earlier half.

Cellular service units contributed 46 per cent of sales.

Last month, Indosat said unaudited first-half profit fell 8 per cent to 535.5 billion rupiah, or 517.2 rupiah a share, from a restated profit of 581 billion rupiah in a year-earlier period.

The company reported a foreign exchange gain of 499 billion rupiah, compared with a loss in the year-ago half of 85.4 billion rupiah. - Bloomberg

24/09/02

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

From my Emails & ICQ

From Mr T

When TV MODA first appeared on Thaicom 3 four days ago, I emailed them to ask if they were going to remain free to air, and if they were, to offer any support in the way of advertising and promotion.

I now know why I did not receive any replies, (unless they took an extended holiday).

As of yesterday their signal was scrambled, (perhaps funnelled might be a better word), so that very few people will be watching them from now on, compared to the possible vast audience they could have had if they remained free and relying on income from sponsors and sales of items on display. (The sale of fashion outfits, not the girls...silly!)

I am still working on an invention but need more ideas.........How can we block the sun and then make people pay for it. Perhaps the councils could get involved here and make some money by imposing a surcharge on solar panels? After all, the sun is a rich source of signals, and who cares if the sales of sunscreen drops.

Keep up the good work Craig,

Mr T.

(Craigs comment, I can't see a problem, its pretty obvious anything new appearing on Thaicom3 is probably for Tarbs distribution. Its not like TV Moda is a major channel of any importance. Italian fashion would be a tiny niche channel. Lyngsats not listing it there anymore. I note Tarbs in the U.S is carrying it.)

From the Dish

Measat 2 148E 11602 H It's CTS on , Viaccess 1, PIDs 336/337, not CTV.

Palapa C2 113E 3926 H "Bali TV" has new pids 4194/4195.

Koreasat 2 113E 12731 H Cinema Network TV has started, Fta SID 26, PIDs 1536/1552.JoongAng Home Shopping on PIDs 512/528 and the test card have left this mux.

ST 1 88E 3632 V All channels in the MMBN mux are Fta.

Express 6A 80E 4125 R New SR for this mux 27500.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3480 H New SR for TARBS World TV is 26667.

NEWS

Loral, HK's APT Satellite in joint satellite deal

From http://www.forbes.com/technology/newswire/2002/09/23/rtr728881.html

NEW YORK, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Satellite company Loral Space & Communications Ltd. (nyse: LOR - news - people) on Monday said it reached an agreement with Hong Kong-based APT Satellite Co. Ltd. to jointly own a satellite scheduled to enter service in the third quarter of 2003.

Loral, which sells satellites and satellite services, said it will pay $115 million in increments through 2008 for its 50 percent interest in the satellite, which it calls Telstar 14. The transaction will not affect Loral's projected cash and capital expenditure plans through 2004.

The new satellite, made by Loral's satellite manufacturing unit, will provide voice, video and data services to China, India and East Asia. The new satellite will also be used to carry entertainment and multimedia service for major Asian cities to and from the United States through Hawaii.

"The addition of Telstar 14 to Loral's fleet supplements our existing capacity over Asia, where we currently have one satellite, Telstar 10, operating at a capacity utilization rate in excess of 75 percent," Bernard Schwartz, chairman and chief executive of Loral, said.

"Telstar 14's wide coverage area is well suited to broadcast, broadband and government opportunities from India to China to the U.S. via Hawaii -- all markets we've identified as having high growth potential," he said in a news release.

APT Satellite is a satellite operator in Asia, owned by a consortium of companies in China, Taiwan, Thailand and Singapore. It provides satellite transponder and telecommunications services for international and Asia-Pacific broadcasting and communications organizations.

ERC panel calls on govt to lift curbs on satellite dishes

From http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/19767/1/.html

Singapore's residential skyline may look very different, if another of the ERC's working groups has its way.

It has unveiled a bold vision to grow Singapore's info-comm technology sector and build a "Living Digital Hub", and its blueprint includes allowing ordinary Singaporeans to install satellite dishes on their rooftops.

Satellite dishes are currently restricted in Singapore to prevent access to undesirable content.

Wilson Tan, Chairman, InfoComm Tech Working Group, Economic Review Committee, said, "Since we're now able to get a lot of information from the Internet, why not lift the restriction on satellites and allow free flow of information to come in and also allow industries, private sector or public sector to benefit from this additional mode of opportunity to receive information."

It also hinders the communications sector and denies people access to different media services.

For example, BSkyB in Britain offers interactive TV services through direct-to-home satellites.

The working group has also urged the government to adopt a lighter hand towards media control, arguing that strict censorship hinders creativity.

It has also suggested raising ownership limits in media companies to encourage global players to invest in local companies.

Mr Tan said, "What we want to do is to ensure that foreign organisations will find it interesting and worthwhile to come to Singapore. They'll bring their technology, bring their know-how.

"They'll also bring content which Singapore may not have and that is the key to what we want, which is creating more innovation, creating more opportunities for Singapore companies to latch on to new technologies and finally, also creating more job opportunities for Singapore in the creative space environment."

RUSSIA'S NTV STARTS BROADCASTING IN USA

From http://en.rian.ru/rian/index.cfm?prd_id=160&msg_id=2739530&startrow=1&date=2002-09-23&do_alert=0

MOSCOW, SEPTEMBER 23, RIA NOVOSTI - Russia's NTV MIR TV-channel that is an international broadcasting channel of the NTV TV company announced that it had signed a contract with EchoStar company - the largest satellite communication company in the USA. This company provides satellite telecasting under DishNetwork trademark.

The NTV MIR channel told RIA Novosti on Monday that according to the agreement, EchoStar starts commercial broadcasting of international version of NTV MIR on American territory through DishNetwork on September 25.

According to NTV, broadcasting in the USA will be carried out under NTV America trademark and the audience will be able to watch NTV programs from Russia, as well as programs made in the USA for NTV America.

In the near future, Australia and New Zealand will be included into the list of countries /European countries, Middle East countries, the USA/ where NTV MIR broadcasts in, said the company.

Asiasat 2 100.5E 3799 H "APTN Asia" is now Fta.
Asiasat 2 100.5E 3773 H "Reuters World Service News" is Fta.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3551 H TV Moda has left .
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3480 H "TV 5 Global Network, VTV 4 and ATN Bangla have replaced ATV, TGRT, Kanal D Fun and Kanal 7" Fta, PIDs 512/640-514/642.

Apstar 2R 76.5E 4108 V The MAK TV Network mux has left .

Intelsat 906 58.5E Intelsat 906 is now geostationary at 58.5 East.