30/09/03

Live satellite related chat tonight 9pm NZ and 8.30pm Syd time onwards in the chatroom.

Sigaram tv has a testcard up on B3 12532v sr 15000 Fec 2/3

www.sigaram.tv

From my Emails & ICQ

From Jsat 29/09

Dr dish

dr dish on now...7.43pm west aust time..
Thaicom 3 3671 13333 3/4

regards jeff.
manjimup WA

From Zapara

more screenshots from Thaicom 3

Vic TV, India Vision, Kairali, Fashion TV

Asianet News

From Mr Humax

New ZEETV channels

Zee have added "FX Movies" and "T4"

I sent this info to lyngsat but in typical lyngsat tradition he didnt add it

(Craigs comment, I presume via Asiasat 3)

From the Dish

PAS 2 169E 3992 V "Fox News Channel" is encrypted again.

PAS 8 166E 3980 HSeveral updates in the Discovery Network Asia mux.A Discovery Networks Asia mux has started on 3764 V, SR 19850, FEC 3/4,
PIDs 110/100-610/600, line-up: Discovery Channel Taiwan, Animal Planet Taiwan, Discovery Travel & Adventure Taiwan, Discovery Channel Japan,Animal Planet Japan and Discovery Channel Australia.

Optus B3 152E 12531 V "Sigaram TV card" has started , fta, PIDs 1160/1120.

Palapa C2 113E 10973 H The Satelindo mux has left .

Insat 3A 93.5E 3941 V "DD Sahayadri" has left (PAL).

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3640 H New APID for Radio Greece : 669.
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3671 H The RR Sat promos, VIC-TV and RNW 3 are back on , Fta, PIDs 1073/1123, 1089/1123, 1105/1123, 1122/1123 and 5154.
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3695 H "Sky Racing 2" is now fta.

Insat 3C 74E 3901 V "DD Kerala" is still/back on , PAL.

PAS 10 68.5E 3864 H "ARY One World" has started testing Fta, PIDs 518/710.

Insat 2DT 55E DD Uttar Pradesh has moved from 3959 L to 4144 L, PAL.
Insat 2DT 55E DD Madhya Pradesh has moved from 4033 L to 4014 R, PAL.
Insat 2DT 55E DD Oriya has left 4014 R (PAL).
Insat 2DT 55E DD Bihar has moved from 4070 L to 3885 L, PAL.

NEWS

A momentous decision made for family reasons

From http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/09/29/1064819869894.html

He may not be the most charismatic politician to walk the corridors of Parliament, but Richard Alston leaves behind a controversial legacy.

Perhaps he will be best remembered as the communications minister who privatised 49.9 per cent of Telstra and who had stoushes with the ABC.

The tone of his relationship with the ABC was set shortly after the Howard Government was elected in 1996. In the first Coalition budget, Senator Alston presided over ABC funding cuts of $55 million a year.

Almost seven years later, relations between Senator Alston and the national broadcaster sank to a new low as Victoria's most senior senator accused the national broadcaster of bias in its reporting on the war in Iraq.

The ferocity and persistence of his attacks on the ABC are unprecedented for any communications minister.

To support his allegations, Senator Alston released a dossier of 68 instances of alleged anti-American bias by ABC radio's flagship current affairs program AM. The ABC rejected most of his allegations. The personal complaint he lodged against the broadcaster is still under appeal.

Senator Alston, a former state president of the Victorian division of the Liberal Party from 1979-1982, oversaw the Telstra T1 and T2 sales, which made about 879,000 Australians shareholders for the first time.

The former barrister, 61, yesterday described the partial sales as one of the highlights of his parliamentary career. He also cited telecommunications consumer safeguards, regulation of the internet and e-commerce, introducing digital television, fixing television black spots and extending SBS television and community radio as key achievements while he was minister.

Senator Alston said the decision to stand aside was momentous, made for family reasons.

"It's been a fantastic ride. Public service is pretty much the highest calling and I feel particularly gratified that I've been able to work with such a high-achieving government with people I regard as being of the highest integrity and to have achieved so much in conjunction with them," he said.

While Senator Alston, who has held the one portfolio since 1996, helped guide the partial sale of Telstra, he leaves communications with one key ambition unfulfilled.

Despite two attempts, one in 1997 and one this year, he failed to change cross-media laws that forbid media proprietors from controlling a television station and a newspaper in the same city.

Senator Alston has not quit politics but an announcement on the timing of his departure from the Senate is expected soon.

Peter Griffin: Holy grail out of Telecom's reach

From http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?thesection=technology&thesubsection=&storyID=3526115

I went, I listened, I asked questions and came away unconvinced. Unconvinced, that is, about Telecom's vision of delivering movies and interactive TV content over the copper wires that snake into our homes.

It was a hazy afternoon in Shanghai and from the top of Alcatel's Asia Pacific headquarters, you'd be forgiven for thinking the key to telecoms nirvana was to simply roll fibre-optic cables past each towering apartment block in high-speed daisy chains spreading out to the city limits.

Around the Alcatel boardroom table the topic of discussion was not fibre but DSL (digital subscriber line) technology - enabling the ageing copper networks that link vast stretches of suburbia in most parts of the world so that digital content can be delivered, cheaply and quickly.

A firm bedfellow of Telecom's through its extensive network outsourcing contracts, Alcatel has a big interest in making video over DSL a global success. It has a 40 per cent share of the market for DSL equipment, making everything from DSLAMs - the boxes that sit in telephone exchanges and digitally enable phone lines - to those turquoise, sting ray-shaped modems that gather dust under the desk of the average Jetstream user and receive the digital signal.

Telecom and its contemporaries also have a big interest in making video over DSL work. Faced with flat revenue growth from their fixed networks and averse to the prospect of replacing copper wires with expensive fibre, they'll do anything to squeeze more life and revenue out of copper.

The idea is to send content down the phone line to our TV sets that we'd normally get through our TV aerials, satellite dishes and from the internet straight to our PCs.

What can we expect? A larger range of broadcast-quality TV channels with the "red button" type facility that allows Sky users in Britain to shoot off on viewing tangents to parallel channels.

Maybe tele-shopping, an interactive form of the lowest denominator of TV shopping - the infomercial. Or perhaps tele-voting: reach for your remote control to kick some hapless contestant out of the Big Brother household. Or a library of movies that will keep you on your couch rather than queuing for a car park outside the local video shop on a Saturday night. Then there is online gaming. Access Xbox Live! and blast away at friends in an orgy of Counterstrike madness.

In July, after a year of negotiation, Telecom finally rekindled its relationship with our only major pay TV operator, Sky, allowing it to again begin offering Sky-Fi-type packages that bundle phone and internet with pay TV services.

All that is simple stuff. The real sticking point with the deal was how Telecom could deliver Sky content over its DSL network and who would own the customer. To placate Sky, Telecom ditched a partnership it had formed with Asian video over DSL provider Intertainer.

In theory the ground has been paved for the copper holy grail - video over DSL. In reality, it's a pretty difficult thing to do here.

While consumers in Japan and Europe are already downloading movies, streaming pay TV channels and responding to TV advertisements over their DSL connections, New Zealand faces a number of barriers in delivering the goods in the same way.

With broadband penetration here lagging behind the rest of the world at just 2 per cent, video over DSL will be able to reach only a fraction of entertainment-hungry consumers for years to come.

Just last week it was reported that of the 50,000 residential "broadband" customers Telecom has notched up, a staggering 73 per cent of them are using Jetstart - the 128kbps offering which isn't even classed as broadband. Viewers will need connection speeds of several megabits a second to make the kinds of thing Telecom has in mind a reality.

The other hurdle DSL faces is one of geography. While Telecom claims up to 85 per cent of the population can access its Jetstream DSL products, many users' homes are based far from Telecom's telephone exchanges, which reduces the speed and reliability at which data can be transmitted.

That's generally not a problem for low-level web surfing, but streaming video or downloading large movie files is another story. In Europe some 70 per cent of the population lives within 3km of the local exchange and are getting connection speeds allowing the delivery of several channels of broadcast TV. Not so New Zealand, where many Jetstream customers are 5km to 7km from the exchange. In Telecom's business, this is the tyranny of distance.

These issues explain why the only real video-over-DSL success stories so far come out of Europe and Asia - from the likes of MonacoTel in Monaco, or Japanese operator BB Cable.

To bridge the gaps between the exchanges and the home, Telecom can install mini DSLAMs in street-side cabinets - and it is already dabbling in this area to deliver high-speed internet access in remote areas. But there's cost involved there and in providing the video servers and broadcasting "head-ends" to make video over DSL possible.

Serious cost. Then you have to figure out how to bill everyone for the services they use. There's also the switch-over of set-top boxes that will be necessary to receive the services.

Alcatel says that every three years compression technology is reducing by half the bandwidth needed to transmit video at high quality, which will reduce the necessity for high-speed connections.

In the short term, it claims, the model in New Zealand and Australia for video over DSL will involve users pre-loading content on to their set-top box for viewing later. I don't buy that argument. Deciding to watch a movie is a spontaneous thing; a mid-evening urge to pop down to the video store and pick up a DVD or two. Tying up your DSL connection all night as a movie of several gigabytes re-assembles itself on your set-top box for viewing the next day is not an attractive option.

No, for the foreseeable future the most effective method of delivering pay TV content will be via satellite to a dish mounted on the roof of the user with the feed sent to a set-top box - in other words, exactly the same way we do now with Sky.

With an inadequate upstream connection, satellite has its limitations but can be used in conjunction with Telecom's copper network to provide interactive TV.

We can expect more and better things to come through our TV sets in the next couple of years and Telecom, Alcatel and Sky will help deliver them.

But sadly, in the development of interactive TV services and the long-talked-about convergence of the TV and the PC, New Zealand is likely to lag well behind the rest of the world.

Panamsat Launching Satellite for HDTV

From http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/business/6891895.htm

STAMFORD, Conn. - A Connecticut company is launching a satellite this week as a platform for distributing high definition television programs in the United States.

PanAmSat Corp., based in Wilton, Conn., on Wednesday will launch Galaxy 13/Horizons-1, which will be home to the first grouping, or neighborhood, of high definition programs in the United States on one satellite, company officials said.

Creating the neighborhood will encourage cable systems to set aside more capacity for high definition programing, said Tom Watts, a satellite analyst with SG Cowen.

The satellite would serve content providers who could ultimately provide high definition television programs to as many as 50 million households, company officials said.

The company, which owns 25 satellites, hopes to tap into what is expected to be a rapid growth in high definition television, which enhances picture resolution.

Watts said it's important to have a neighborhood of high definition providers so that a cable operator can use one dish to pull all the programs down. But the key question is how fast demand will ramp up to fill the satellite with programming.

PanAmSat said its customers include HBO, Turner Broadcasting and Charter Communications. The satellite is expected to begin operating by January.

Shares of PanAmSat rose 78 cents, or 5.6 percent, to close at $14.72 Monday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

(Craigs comment, Live coverage of Galaxy 13/Horizons 1 with Zenit/Sea Launch will also be PAS 2: 3901 H.)

UBC inks deal with Leitch

From http://www.advanced-television.com/pages/pagesb/newsdaily.html

United Broadcasting Corporation (UBC), Thailand's largest pay television operator, has awarded Leitch a multi-million contract to convert its conventional tape facility into a completely digital production and transmission operation. UBC is the first major broadcaster in Southeast Asia to adopt a total tape less solution for its production and operations.

Zee to uplink its two channels from India

From http://www.advanced-television.com/pages/pagesb/newsdaily.html

Zee Telefilms, the country's largest private broadcasting network, has obtained government permission to uplink its entertainment channel Zee TV and movie channel Zee Cinema from India.

"Shifting of broadcast of these channels would help garner advertising revenue from domestic advertisers, save foreign exchange costs and help bring about operational efficiency in the wake of introduction of CAS and DTH technologies for distribution," said Rajiv Garg, CEO (Corporate Strategy and Finance), Essel Group, of which Zee Telefilms is a group company.

The company has contracted Essel Shyam Communications to uplink these channels. The channels would continue to be broadcast using the same transponder from the Asiasat satellite.

Meanwhile, Zee Telefilms (ZTL) is investing $88 million over the next three years to upgrade its SitiCable cable network to the new conditional access (CAS) regime and for launching direct-to-home (DTH) operations.

29/09/03

Looks like Insat 3E launched to 55E without any problems. Only likely to be in view to those in W.A with big dish once services start on it. An info page at the following link. http://www.isro.org/insat3e/pg2.htm

Well it seems Sky TV's "Revolution" mentioned last week is nothing more than an interactive advert for Philips DVDram products. I should of known better to think that they were launching something as usefull as a PVR for Sky viewers.

Apstar 5 will launch to 138E with Zenit/Sea Launch: November. This one will have Cband coverage to Australia and NZ. From the look of the footprints Cband to NZ 32.5dBW and higher than that in Aus.

Details here. http://www.apstar.com/apstar/apstar_v.html

Seen on Ebay Australia

"I am putting this warning in here to try and help unsuspecting ebayers from from getting ripped off.The Pace DGT 400 decoder box has been removed from service and not will not show any Pay TV channels at all.There is no fix for this.These boxs will never work again. I have noticed many boxs getting listed here since they have stopped working with the seller saying that they don't have a dish etc.. so buyer beware.Do not accept any excuse there are some new listed sellers here who are trying to rip unsuspecting buyers. I also hope ebay will look into this as well to protect it's buyer's.If you have been misled in buying one in the last few days then demand your money back and leave negetive feedback.. Hopes this helps someone... Now down to business. I also have a Pace DGT 400 to sell. It has no card flap ,no cam and no remote.It will power up but will show no pictures when tested with a 1.13f cam and provider card.I have set the start price as one dollar..happy bidding... Cheers"

From my Emails & ICQ

From Chris Pickstock 28/09

9.45pm SA time
B1, 12326 H, sr 6980."World Superbike Championship"

From Ranime 28/09

Optus B1 Australian idol feed seen 12358V Sr 6667 Fec 3/4

From Tony 28/09

12720v 3000 2/3 still FTA here in Perth at 2230wst...

Seven Central
abc se
abc sa
abc qld
sbs qld
sbs sa
and Centerlink

From the Dish

AsiasSat 3 105.5E 4020 V "Sahara Samay Mumbai" has started,Fta, PIDs 515/680.

NSS 6 95E 11595 V "FalconStream" has started , SR 24000, FEC 3/4, Middle East beam.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3671 H The RR Sat promo, Radio Nederland Wereldomroep Europa, Radio Nederland Wereldomroep International and RNW 3 have left .

Apstar 2R 76.5E 3652 H "Radio Lanka" has started, Fta, APID 1222.

PAS 10 68.5E 3744 V "SuperSport 4 and M-Net" have started , Irdeto 2, PIDs 1632/1631 and 2036/2035.
PAS 7 68.5E 3514 V "Adventist TV Network" is still on , Fta, new SR: 6620, FEC 2/3,PIDs 4160/2120-4126, Fri 17:00-18:30 UTC.

NEWS

INSAT-3E launched; boost to telecom, television services

From http://www.manoramaonline.com/

Bangalore: India's advanced communication satellite INSAT-3E was successfully launched by an European rocket from the spaceport of Kourou in French Guyana early on Sunday, giving a boost to telecom and television services.

The European consortium Arianespace's Ariane 5 launcher lofted a trio of payloads -- INSAT-3E, e-BIRD for Europe's Eutelsat and SMART-1 for the European Space Agency -- in an intricate multi-sequence mission. The 162nd flight of Ariane 5 soared majestically in an excellent weather at 4.44 am IST, leaving a trail of orange flames in its wake and completed the 13th mission of the launch vehicle, telecast live by Doordarshan.

The fourth satellite in the INSAT series, the spacecraft is equipped with 24 normal C-band and 12 extended C-band transponders, swelling the present capacity of nearly 95 transponders in the five already operational INSAT satellites.

The 2775 kg INSAT-3E has an operational life-time of 15 years. INSAT system is the mainstay for communication and broadcasting in the country. "It's a proud moment for me from the Indian side to witness this great event. It (Ariane 5) has proven its strength and precision. It has put the spacecraft into precise orbit", a beaming new chairman of city-headquartered Indian Space Research Organisation, G Madhavan Nair, said.

Soon after the INSAT-3E was injected into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO), ISRO's Master Control Facility at Hassan in Karnataka acquired the spacecraft. "Performance of the satellite is normal", ISRO said.

Preparing for RESOURCESAT launch

From http://web.mid-day.com/news/nation/2003/september/65047.htm

Bangalore: After the successful launch of its latest communication satellite INSAT-3E, Indian space scientists are gearing for their next mission to launch the new generation remote sensing satellite RESOURCESAT (IRS-P6) by the indigenous PSLV Rocket in the third week of October.

The satellite undergoing final integration at the Satish Dhawan space centre in Sriharikota, 100 km from Chennai, is scheduled for a launch by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle between October 10 and October 20, sources in Indian Space Research Organisation told PTI.

IRS-P6, to be placed in the sun synchronous polar orbit at 800 km, is expected to give a major boost to application of remote sensing in resource management. It will also carry HAMSAT, a 40 kg satellite dedicated for amateur radio enthusiasts.

ISRO has already embarked on building heavier three tonne class communication satellites in the next generation INSAT-4 series. Besides this, communication transponders will have "Ku" band transponders for the direct-to-home (DTH) television broadcast and Mobile satellite service.

The INSAT-4A and INSAT-4B satellites will have more transponders and ISRO has already signed a MoU with Arianespace to launch the spacecraft using the heavier Ariane 5 rocket during 2004. "INSAT-4A is scheduled for a launch in the first quarter of next year," ISRO sources said.

The last of the INSAT-3 series satellite, INSAT-3D will also be launched during next year.

European rocket heads for the moon

From http://www.arabtimesonline.com/arabtimes/breakingnews/view.asp?msgID=2962

EUROPE'S first mission to the moon got off to a smooth start today with the launch of a rocket carrying the European Space Agency's SMART-1 probe from a base in South America.

The Ariane-5 rocket lifted off from its launch pad in Kourou, French Guinea at 8.14pm local time (09.14am AEST) and was to place the unmanned spacecraft and two communications satellites in space within about 40 minutes, Arianespace said.

The SMART-1, short for "Small Missions for Advanced Research and Technology," is off for a long voyage: It's expected to reach the moon by December 2004.

The core mission of the probe is to test a new solar-electric propulsion technology. The SMART-1 will rely on energy generated by solar panels used by "ion engines" that provide a thrust of charged particles.

The craft, weighing only 367kg, will also pioneer minute instrumentation to be used to explore the origins of the moon, look for water there and examine the prospect of building a permanent human base on the lunar surface.

It will orbit the earth in ever-widening circles until its flight path encompasses the moon. A small engine will then be fired to sling it into a close orbit to the moon. While slow, ESA officials say the SMART-1 mission is cost-effective at a price tag of 110 million euros ($A186.8 million) - about a fifth of a typical major science mission.

The SMART-1 was developed for ESA by the Swedish Space Corporation with contributions from some 30 contractors from 11 European countries and the United States.

SMART-1 should enter the lunar orbit by December 2004, and a month later will begin a six-month run of experiments. After that, scientists may extend the mission, depending on funding.

The other rocket payload in today's launch included the Insat-3E, an Indian satellite designed to provide TV broadcasting, and the e-Bird, which is to help provide high-speed internet service for businesses in Europe.

Ariane 5G launches INSAT-3E

From http://www.keralanext.com/news/index.asp?id=16400

BANGALORE: After a month's delay, India's exclusive communication satellite INSAT-3E was successfully launched in a precise mission by European Ariane 5 rocket from the spaceport of Kourou in French Guyana, giving a boost to telecommunication and television services. Carrying three payloads in clear weather, Ariane 5 injected the 2775 kg INSAT-3E into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) in the 29 minute of its flight in a multi-step intricate mission, Arianespace and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) sources said.

Two other satellites -- e-BIRD for Europe's Eutelsat and SMART-1 for the European Space Agency -- were also launched by Ariane on board its 162nd flight with INSAT-3E being the highest payload.

Soon after its injection into space, the Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka took control of INSAT-3E whose performance was described as "normal" by ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair in his remarks after witnessing the launch.

"It (Ariane 5) has put INSAT-3E into precise orbit", said Nair, who took over as ISRO chief about a month ago from Dr K Kasturirangan, following his nomination to the Rajya Sabha.

INSAT-3E was slated for launch in August but a quality alert from a Japanese firm, which supplied the components, had forced ISRO to retest its components, causing the delay.

Announcing that MCF had acquired signals from INSAT-3E, Nair said, "We hope we will be able to complete the remaining operations and make it a grand success for the national programme".

On Friday, the launch readiness review gave a green signal for the launch.

Initial health check-ups on INSAT-3E indicate its performance was normal and MCF issued tele-commands to the satellite to make its earth viewing face orient towards earth, Bangalore-headquartered ISRO said in a statement.

INSAT-3E, which would replace INSAT-2DT which is at the fag end of its life and leased transponders, carries 24 C-band transponders and 12 extended C-band transponders on baord.

With an operational lifetime of 15 years, INSAT-3E, the fourth in the INSAT-3 series, would augment the present capacity of INSAT for communication and TV services.

ISRO said the satellite was injected into GTO in 3-axis stabilised mode, with a perigee (nearest point to earth) of 649 kms and an apogee (farthest point to earth) of 35,923 kms and an inclination of 7 degree with respect to the equator.

The satellite is presently orbiting the earth with an orbital period of about 10 hours and 50 minutes.

ISRO said the satellite is being tracked, monitored and controlled from MCF. During the initial phase of INSAT-3 operations, MCF also utilises INMARSAT Organisation's Telemetry, Tracking and Command (TTC) ground stations at Beijing, Fucino (Italy) and Lake Cowichan (Canada).

In the coming days, INSAT-3E will be raised to its final geo-stationary orbit, about 36,000 kms above the equator, by firing its 440 Newton Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM).

Two Russian, four foreign satellites are launched after 24-hour delay

From http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/ap09-27-021802.asp?reg=EUROPE

MOSCOW, Sept. 27 A Russian rocket brought two Russian and four foreign satellites — including Nigeria's first — into orbit Saturday after technical problems delayed the launch by 24 hours, officials said.

A Kosmos-3M rocket took off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 10:11 a.m. (2:11 a.m. EDT), carrying satellites from Nigeria, Turkey, Britain and South Korea, as well as two Russian military satellites, Russian Space Forces spokesman Vyacheslav Davidenko said.

All six satellites entered their target orbit at 11:46 a.m., Davidenko said.

The launch had been scheduled for Friday, but officials said it was delayed for unspecified technical reasons.

The ITAR-Tass news agency reported Friday that the problem was believed to be either in the rocket's fuel system or in the launch equipment.
The two Russian satellites will be used by the military for science experiments and to provide radar services.

Nigeria's satellite is the West African nation's first and is designed for studying Earth from space. The satellites of Turkey, Britain and South Korea also will study Earth.

T S I C H A N N E L N E W S - Number 37/2003 28 September 2003 -

A weekly roundup of global TV news sponsored by TELE-satellite International

Editor: Branislav Pekic

Edited Apsattv.com Edition

TURKEY

VIC-TV OFFERS INTERACTIVE TV

Screenpeaks, the innovative provider of Video over Ultra Thin Band Broadcast Technology, on September 24 announced that since August millions of Turkish speaking viewers across Europe and Asia have been able to communicate with overseas relatives and business contacts using the new VIC-TV channel while actually watching themselves and their relatives on TV. Viewers use the Internet to broadcast photos and text messages through satellite TV to their families and friends worldwide. This way each individual can also claim his 15 seconds of fame and be watched on TV all over the world. The new service is very user friendly and freely accessible to everyone. Anyone with access to the Internet can now go to http://www.vic-tv.net, register and enter his or her text message and photo. After a short while the message and photo will go on air to the VIC-TV free channel via the "Eurasiasat 1/Turksat 2A" satellite. Owners of dish receivers in Turkey and all over Europe, tuned to the "Eurasiasat1/Turksat 2A" satellite, can receive the broadcast. Receiving the channel does not require any special set top box, card or subscription. The satellite is positioned at 42.0 degrees East and the channel can be found on frequency 12,620 GHz. During the launch period, Screenpeaks will offer the service for sending photos and text messages to anyone in Turkey or elsewhere free of charge. Part of the financial model of the new channel is based on advertising, offered at a fraction of the cost of regular TV advertisements.

(Craigs comment, this was also testing on Thaicom 3)

AUSTRALIA

DIGITAL FTA CHANNELLS BY 2005

Under a push for changes to digital broadcasting laws by Australia’s Communication Minister, Richard Alston, Australians could have access to new free-to-air television channels featuring sport and lifestyle shows as early as 2005, the Age newspaper has reported. The newspaper quoted a spokesman for the minister as saying Senator Alston would present two options, the first being to allow multi-channelling to begin after January 2005. “This would allow networks to show several different sporting events simultaneously, for instance, or devote an additional channel to lifestyle programmes or other themed material.” ”The extra channels would be free, but viewers would have to buy digital TV equipment to receive them,” he said. The package is expected to go to the cabinet within the next month. The government has received submissions by the Nine and Ten networks opposing the plan. "While free-to-air multi-channelling may appear conceptually attractive, in practice it will lead to a decrease in quality of programming on free-to-air TV in Australia," Nine and Ten wrote to Senator Alston's department in July. "With increased acquisition and production costs for broadcasters to meet the additional demand, it is difficult to imagine how broadcasters will be in a position to produce new (content), or purchase programming of a reasonable quality”. The Seven Network however vocally supports the plan and wants to use multi-channelling to offer more sports coverage.

CHINA - HONG KONG

PCCW GETS BROADBAND PAY-TV LICENSE

The Hong Kong government said on September 23 it has granted a license to PCCW to offer pay-television broadcasting over its fixed telecommunications broadband network. The license will be valid for 12 years. PCCW started its pay-TV operation earlier this month and has already signed up 35,000 clients for the 23-channel service in the three weeks since its launch, prompting the company to boost its year-end goal to 100,000 subscribers from 60,000 previously. PCCW's transmission system uses Internet multicasting technology over digital subscriber lines to transmit compressed signals to a subscriber's set-top box where they are decoded before reaching the television. The company, Hong Kong's dominant fixed-line telecommunications provider, offered the service free of charge while it awaited its pay-TV license. From October, it will let customers subscribe to channels individually rather than in the bundles common with other cable and satellite TV services. Pricing will vary between HK$9 and HK$21 a month per channel and there is so far no rental fee for the company's set-top boxes. The service currently offers TV networks from the U.S. and Europe, including the Hallmark Channel, Golf Channel, CNBC, MTV, Cartoon Network, Turner Classic Movies and Deutsche Welle.

GUANGZHOU TV TAKES PART IN EXPERIMENT

China’s central government is using Guangzhou as a testing ground to see how state-owned television broadcasters can compete in the crowded but lucrative market. The city's state-owned TV operator, Guangzhou Television, has two options - either to remain an official mouthpiece or become market-oriented and compete with private and foreign-backed broadcasters. A source at Guangzhou TV said Guangzhou was chosen for the experiment because there was no other city in the country that had such a high exposure to both mainland and foreign cultures and TV programming. Guangzhou TV has a viewership of 30 million, mainly in Guangzhou and the Pearl River Delta. It has an average rating of 12 per cent, compared with Television Broadcasts' 30 per cent and Asia Television's 10 per cent. But Guangzhou TV programming director Wang Jianzhong claims the biggest threat comes from News Corp's Xingkong Weishi [Chinese-language entertainment TV channel]. Xingkong Weishi, along with Chinese Entertainment Television, Phoenix Satellite Television and Viacom's MTV, are the only four overseas broadcasters that have landing rights in Guangdong. Guangzhou TV hopes diversified programming could attract a greater audience and advertisers.

FIJI

GOVERNMENT INVITES TENDERS FOR PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING

The Fiji government has invited tenders for the new three year Public Service Broadcast contract currently held by Fiji Broadcasting Corporation Limited (FBC), Radio Australia has reported. FBC’s current contract is due to expire in December this year and the Fiji government has called for tenders for a new term to begin on January 1 next year. The potential suppliers are expected to demonstrate a high standard of professional broadcasting and the ability to provide national coverage reaching the entire population. The ministry also says that the successful contractor will have to provide national development and leadership programmes and also focus on cultural heritage, reconciliation, social and community obligations and emergency services.

INDIA

STAR TEAMS UP WITH ABP GROUP FOR STAR NEWS

To satisfy India's foreign ownership regulations, Rupert Murdoch's Star Group has joined forces with a local publishing house, ABP Group, to broadcast its 24-hour Hindi news channel, Star News. Star News India was recently threatened with closure by the Indian authorities, following new rules requiring it to be majority-owned by a local company and have editorial control in Indian hands. To comply with both conditions, the new joint-venture, called Media Content & Communications Services India will now own and operate Star News India. Under the alliance, ABP will take a 74% stake in the augmented paid-up equity share capital of MCCS. Star will take a 26% stake, the maximum foreign ownership allowed under Indian law. With the foreign ownership regulations and editorial conditions satisfied, MCCS will now file a revised application with the Indian government to be able to uplink the news channel from Indian soil.

DISNEY TO LAUNCH PAY-TV SERVICE

The Walt Disney Company has reportedly applied to the country's Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to launch a wholly-owned Disney Channel in India. According to local reports, the company will invest $10 million in the venture over the next five years. Disney is also said to be in talks with STAR and Sony Entertainment Television for a carriage agreement. According to Disney's application, the channel will air a mix of foreign and local productions, with library programming dubbed into Indian languages. Disney is also in talks with Star India and Sony Entertainment Television for distribution of the channel.

TRENDZ TO BROADCAST MORE FASHION SHOWS

Zee Telefilms' 24-hour fashion and style channel, Trendz, has announced that it would showcase the biggest fashion events from the fashion capitals of the world - London, Paris, Milan and New York - this October. The channel has established tie-ups to telecast various prominent international fashion weeks on their programme Fashion Premiere, which airs at 10:30 pm through the week. Fashion Premierewill include the New York Fashion Week's spring/summer 2004 ready-to-wear show, London Fashion Week's spring/summer 2004, Milan Fashion Week's Moda Donna spring/summer collection 2004 and Paris Fashion Week's ready-to-wear collection.

DITG AND RECREATE TO DEVELOP ITV SERVICES

The Digital Interactive Television Group and Recreate Solutions have joined forces to develop the iTV market in India. The partnership agreement will enable the two companies to provide a range of applications and solutions to offer services including chat, shopping, voting and advertising, as well as applications like interactive registration through set top box for pay-per-view and subscriptions. DITG is an independent provider of interactive TV services in the UK, and has recently acquired one of its largest competitors, GOiNTERACTtv.

STAR GETS HISTORY CHANNEL RIGHTS

Indian satellite platform Star TV has acquired the distribution rights for the History Channel in India. The platform will launch the channel in November, according to local press.

DTH SERVICE TO LAUNCH IN OCTOBER

India's cable operators are set to encounter increased competition when Essel Group's ASC Enterprises begins test runs of digital DTH satellite services in October. The company's Dish TV service, the first to be granted a DTH license by the government, will focus on rural areas not served by cable operators. An entry level set-top box will cost consumers Rs5,000 ($109), with a high end model priced at Rs12,000, while a basic subscription will cost Rs150 a month for 40-60 channels. Essel Group says it will have 200 channels available eventually, with premium packages costing Rs500 a month.

IRAQ

ARAB SATELLITE TV CHANNELS BANNED

Iraq's governing council has decided to close down the Baghdad offices of the Arab satellite television stations Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya, at least temporarily, a council spokesman said on September 23. Entefadh Qanbar, spokesman for the council's head Ahmad Chalabi, said it was discussing the legal means of shutting down the two stations for allegedly inciting violence against US occupation forces and their Iraqi supporters.

JAPAN

DISNEY PREPARES TO LAUNCH LOCAL CHANNEL

Walt Disney Television International is gearing up for the launch of Disney Channel Japan. In the run up to the channel launch in November, Disney has concluded a deal with local cable and broadband operator, Jupiter Telecommunications (J-COM). Disney Channel Japan will join J-COM Broadband's basic line-up and will broadcast a mixture of movies, animated and live action series, along with original programming produced at Disney's soon-to-close studio. Owned by Liberty Media, Microsoft and various local companies, J-COM Broadband currently reaches into 6 million Japanese households. Satellite platform Sky Perfect has already signed up to carry Disney Channel Japan. This latest launch will take the number of Disney channels on air worldwide to a total of 63.

GOVERNMENT TO SUPPORT DTT

Japan's minister for public management, home affairs, posts and telecommunications, has confirmed government support for commercial broadcasters in the run up to digital terrestrial launches on December 1. Toranosuke Katayama said the government would amend legislation to offer tax breaks and other incentives to reduce the financial burden digitalization. DTT start-up costs have been estimated at Yen800b ($6.9 billion) across the industry, with small regional stations voicing increased concern.

MALAYSIA

MEDIA PRIMA EYES CHANNEL 8

Malaysian broadcast-to-events group Media Prima is negotiating to buy terrestrial broadcaster Channel 8, formerly known as Metrovision. Media Prima already owns commercial broadcaster Sistem Televisyen Malaysia, and has applied for a radio license. Media Prima was formed to own the Media assets of Malaysian Resources Corp. when it restructured earlier this year.

ASTRO PREPARES FOR IPO

Malaysian pay-TV operator Astro has begun the process of wooing investors in advance of its IPO later this year. However, analysts believe Astro, which has 1.1 million subscribers and is owned by local entrepreneur Ananda Krishnan, will struggle to reach its M$2 billion (US$526 million) flotation target due to foreign investor scepticism over future earnings. Astro will use the IPO proceeds to help pay off its M$2 billion debt.

NEW ZEALAND

SKY TV ADDS HISTORY AND DISNEY

Pay-TV operator Sky Television said that it is adding U.K. TV, the History Channel and the Disney Channel to its satellite line-up beginning November 1. Sky, which is enjoying a surge in subscriptions, ratings and advertising revenue, notched up more than 540,000 subscriptions in a territory of four million people and posted its first profit since going digital five years ago. The introduction of new channels coincides with Sky dropping the Hallmark Channel and CNBC Australia and reportedly preparing to replace CNN International on its UHF service with the indigenous Maori Television Service. Television New Zealand transmission arm BCL had proposed building a platform for the long-delayed channel, but it's believed the government has opted for MTS to lease the Sky channel so it can get on the air as soon as possible.

GOVERNMENT TO AUCTION TV FREQUENCIES

The New Zealand government has announced that it will hold an auction for additional AM, FM and TV broadcasting licences commencing on November 18. The auction will consist of long-term licences for all the temporary commercial broadcasting licences issued in recent years, and for two new commercial FM licences in Auckland, where strong demand is expected. The auction catalogue will be published by the Ministry of Economic Development in mid-October on the Web at: http://www.med.govt.nz/rsm/auctions

PAKISTAN

PTV TO LAUNCH NEW CHANNEL

Pakistan’s state broadcaster, PTV, plans to launch another channel, bringing the total number of PTV channels to six, the Paknews newspaper has reported. The newspaper quoted Pakistan’s Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, as saying the launch would help to overcome the surplus of staff in the non-technical sector of PTV. "By February 5 next year an independent channel at Muzaffarabad will start airing its transmission. We are considering to launch full-fledged channels in the news and entertainment sectors," the minister said.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

TEN GETS CARRIAGE DEAL ON E-VISION

TEN Sports has secured carriage on E-Vision, a United Arab Emirates-based digital cable TV platform. The new channel will be available as part of E-Vision's e-Pehla Silver & Gold and e-Firstnet Sport & Gold packages.

28/09/03

No updates Sunday

27/09/03

Advert from Skywatch magazine October page 61

"We're not going to be controlled anymore! If you want to be free go to channel 222 and join the Revolution"

Nothing there at the moment, but a look at Sky on B1 12519V lists a service "Revolution" on Sid 1222, Apid 3201

All is revealed once you hit the EPG button "Join the Revolution" the biggest breakthrough in TV since the VCR is here. Are you ready for a REVOLUTION?

What does this mean? to me it looks like Sky is about to launch a PVR perhaps in time for Christmas? I wonder if the plan is to sell it to the customer?

Insat 3E is launching tomorrow to 55E

From my Emails & ICQ

From Various

Optus B1 12367 V Sr 6666 Fec 3/4 "AFL Final"

Also Live on Star Sports Asiasat 3

From Superfly

ABC Asia-Pacific to show Melbourne Cup live.

ABC Asia-Pacific will show the Melbourne Cup Spring carnival races live. Includes Cox plate and Caulfield cup.

From Bassett

Star Sports on Asiasat 3 have been advertising full coverage of "rugby world cup"

From Zapara

More screenshots from Asiasat 3

Sahara Manoranjan, Sahara madhya pradesh, MTA International, Channel News Asia

Xing Kong

Apstar 2r Screenshots

NTV Bangaladesh , and NR1 (Indian?, and no its not Maharishi)

Some from Asiasat 2

Eurosports News, And MSTV 5 star

and one from Insat 3a at 93.5E

DD Sahayadri

More on Monday!

From the Dish

PAS 2 169E 3992 V "Fox News Channel" is Fta.

Optus C1 156E Updates in Austar/Foxtel:

FYi - For Your Information and Austar Games Channel on 12278 H are now encrypted.TVSN has started on 12398 H, clear, PIDs 512/640.Expo Channel on 12598 H is now encrypted.

Optus C1 156E 12567 V "Radio Raw FM" has replaced SCAR FM, Fta, APID 1872.

NSS 6 95E 12688 V "NTD TV" has started on , BISS, PIDs 1025/1026.

Yamal 102 90E 3489 L "Gascom Internet" has started on .

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3520 H "Radio Netherlands Wereldomroep Europa" has started, Fta,APID 2083 and 4131.
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3545 V New PIDs for the Care TV promo : 307/308.
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3640 H "NET, Ant 1 97.2, ERA 5 and ERA Sport" are FTA.
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3671 H "Fashion TV" on PIDs 1121/1122 and both VIC-TV have left .Radio Netherlands Wereldomroep Europa and Radio Netherlands Wereldomroep International have started on APIDs 50 and 66.New PIDs for the RR Sat promo and BVN TV: 1057/1058 and 5153/5154.

PAS 7 68.5E 3514 V "Adventist TV Network" has left .

NEWS

Countdown begins for INSAT-3E launch

From http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/01271210.htm

Bangalore, Sept. 27. (PTI): Countdown has begun for the launch of India's latest exclusive communication satellite INSAT-3E along with two other spacecraft on board the 162nd flight of Ariane from European spaceport Kourou in French Guyana early tomorrow.

The mission's Ariane 5G launch vehicle has already been transferred from its final assembly building to the launch zone.

According to Arianespace, all is on schedule for the liftoff of Flight 162 with the three-satellite payload of Europe's SMART-1 lunar probe, the Eutelsat e-BIRD broadband services satellite, and the Indian Space Research Organisation's INSAT-3E telecommunications/video broadcast platform.

Launch window for INSAT-3E fixed

From http://www.centralchronicle.com/20030927/2709128.htm

BANGALORE: India's exclusive communications satellite INSAT 3E is scheduled to be launched between 4.32 and 4.51 a.m. IST Sunday from Kourou in French Guiana, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced Friday.

The Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan, 240 km from here, has gone into the "readiness" mode to track the satellite, which will be launched into space by an Ariane-5 rocket. The MCF will take control of the satellite as soon it is injected into a geo- synchronous transfer orbit.

In the days following the launch, the MCF will conduct operations like orbit raising manoeuvres to take the satellite into final geo-synchronous orbit, deployment of solar arrays and antennas and positioning of the satellite in its designated orbital slot of 55 degrees East longitude.

The MCF will also carry out regular operations and control of the satellite during its designed life.

INSAT 3E has 24 C-band and 12 extended C-band transponders.

The satellite, weighing 2,775 kg, is the fourth in the INSAT 3 series. It will replace INSAT 2DT as well as augment India's transponder capacity.

T S I C H A N N E L N E W S - Number 36/2003 21 September 2003 -

A weekly roundup of global TV news sponsored by TELE-satellite International

Editor: Branislav Pekic

A S I A

AUSTRALIA

DIGITAL BOX MANUFACTURERS WANT MULTIPLE CHANNELS

Digital set-top box manufacturers are lobbying the Federal Government to repeal the ban on free-to-air TV networks broadcasting extra channels. The industry has told the Government that allowing the commercial networks to operate multiple channels will boost the number of people converting from analogue to digital television. Digital TV has yet to be embraced by consumers, with just 100,000 set-top boxes sold to retailers. The Communications Minister, Richard Alston, is expected to seek Cabinet's approval to lift the multi-channel ban which has been in place since 1998. He is also expected to recommend the Government bring forward the review of its digital policy. The Australian Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association has told the Government that picture quality and greater choice were the keys to widespread digital uptake. Letting the networks use multiple channels would increase the amount of digital content available. AEEMA has suggested the Government allow free-to-air broadcasters to use multiple channels 20 hours a week. Nine and Ten are against multiple channels, arguing it is costly and will dilute the amount of money advertisers spend on free-to-air television. Foxtel also opposes the concept, as it wants time to establish its digital service.

INDIA

ABP BECOMES STAR INDIA’S PARTNER

Star India has chosen Calcutta publisher ABP as the lead partner for its recently-launched Hindi news channel. Changes in government regulations forced News Corp.-owned Star India to reduce its stake to 26% and involve a local partner. ABP will reportedly pay Rs750 million ($16 million) for a 74% stake in Media Content and Communications Services, which owns the news channel.

DDI INDIA TO LAUNCH NEWS CHANNEL

India’s national broadcaster, Doordarshan (DDI), is to launch the country’s first terrestrial 24-hour news channel on November 1. The Chief Executive Officer of Prasar Bharati (the Broadcasting Corporation of India), K S Sarma, announced the decision in New Delhi at an event marking DDI’s 44th anniversary. The new channel, DD News, will compete with 16 other 24-hour news channels in India. However, they are all satellite channels that reach homes only with cable connections, mainly in urban areas. DDI first launched a news channel in August 1999 but it was a satellite channel and its reach was limited. It failed to attract enough revenue and DDI closed it less than two years later. As a public service broadcaster, DDI hopes the new channel ­ in Hindi and English ­ will reach a large audience in remote parts of India.

ISRAEL

REALITY TV SIGNS CARRIAGE DEAL

Reality TV, the international cable and satellite channel operated by Zone Vision, has upped its subscriber base by some 500,000, after a carriage deal in Israel. The channel will arrive on YES, the territory's only digital satellite platform, later this autumn. YES already carries Zone Vision's telenovela channel, Romantica. The deal brings Reality TV's international footprint to 35 million homes in 120 countries.

TV CHANNELS UNDER INVESTIGATION ON ADVERTISING

Representatives of local pay-TV channel Israel Plus and foreign pay-TV channels NTV and ORT International are scheduled to appear before a hearing of the Council for Cable and Satellite Broadcasting on September 18 as part of an investigation into the legality of advertising carried by foreign channels. Israel's telecommunications law stipulates that no more than 25% of a foreign channel's advertising may target Israeli audiences. The CCSB claims that investigation over the past year has shown that these channels may be operating illegally.

JAPAN

HIGH TECH CARDS NECESSARY FOR NHK DIGITAL RECEPTION

Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) is considering making its terrestrial and broadcast satellite (BS) digital TV programs available only to viewers with special integrated circuit (IC) cards from next April. The public broadcaster hopes the measure will prevent illegal copying of digital broadcasting, the officials said. NHK, which has already been airing BS digital broadcasting, plans to launch terrestrial digital broadcasting in three major city areas from December. It is easy to make high-quality pirated copies of digital programs since the quality of the original images is maintained after recording. Broadcasting companies in the private sector are expected to make joint announcements with NHK as early as by the end of this month on plans to introduce similar IC cards. Viewers of NHK digital TV programs will be given an IC card dubbed B-CAS for use with their TV sets or tuners, and it will be possible to tape the programs only once. Some critics have said that under this system, NHK will be able to know who is watching which program, and that there is a risk of an invasion of privacy. NHK officials have responded by saying that the system is aimed solely at preventing pirated copies, and that it is technically impossible to gain information on all the individual viewers. Satellite broadcaster WOWOW Inc. is currently among the few broadcasters offering pay programs which already uses this system.

MALAYSIA

ASTRO TO ISSUE NEW SHARES

Malaysia’s exclusive direct to home satellite TV provider Astro is planning a €498 million share sale next month by issuing another 508 million shares, equal to around 25 per cent of its capital on the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange. Astro has some one million subscribers although it has posted losses since it began operating in 1995 with the latest figures showing a loss before tax of €63 million for the year ending January 31, 2003. Nearly three-quarters of the proceeds from the share sales are expected to go towards paying off debts worth €553 million. Astro owner Ananda Krishnan has been busy selling off parts of businesses including the Maxis mobile communications platform and his share of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur in order to restructure his portfolio. Despite the losses, Astro is expected to become profitable for the full year in 2004. In the six months to July 31 it reported a profit before taxes of €1.16 million on sales of €148 million. Astro has no rivals in Malaysia since a microwave-delivered service that only operated around the capital ceased transmissions and the government has no plans to allow competing services.

QATAR

AL JAZEERA TO LAUNCH FTA SPORTS CHANNEL

Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera is set to launch a new free-to-air sports channel in Arabic next month, with a schedule dominated by European football. Initially on air for 12 hours a day, the new network will beam into the Far and Middle East, Egypt, Libya and Francophone North Africa. Transmission time will rise to 24 hours a day in time for the Asian Games, taking place in Qatar in 2006. Al Jazeera is currently in talks for broadcast rights to the Spanish football league and Euro 2004 championships in Portugal. The new network is due to conclude the deal with the Spanish league at the Sportel TV market in Monaco.

SINGAPORE

PAY TV RULING EXPECTED

According to press reports, Singapore's Media Development Authority will shortly announce whether it will allow exclusive pay-TV content agreements, just a few days before the tender for the country's second pay-TV license closes. The decision is seen as crucial to the future of pay-V in the country, with incumbent StarHub Cable Vision already having exclusive deals with HBO and ESPN. Potential pay-TV entrants SingTel and MediaCorp say such deals are anticompetitive and should be scrapped.

THAILAND

CABLE RESTRICTIONS TO BE EASED

Thailand's government has agreed to ease restrictions on unlicensed cable TV operators until their services are legalized by the National Broadcasting Commission, with the Provincial Electricity Authority confirming it would delay plans to remove TV cable suspended from its power lines. There are more than 420 unlicensed cable operators in Thailand, which the government claims cost it "billions" in lost license fees. The situation has been brought about by the delay in establishing the National Broadcasting Commission, which is three years behind schedule.

A F R I C A

KENYA

STATE BROADCASTER ANNOUNCES MODERNISATION PLANS

The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation [KBC] has embarked on a modernization process which would include rehabilitation of both its radio and television stations, acquisition of modern broadcasting equipment and up-grading of its transmitting stations. The corporation's managing director, Wachira Waruru, said this during a meeting between Guo Chongli, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China and the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation management. The Chinese delegation visited KBC to further explore areas of co-operation between the two media houses and to formally extend the China Central Television's (CCTV) invitation to a KBC management technical team to Beijing, China, for bilateral talks.

26/09/03

For coverage of the Japanese earthquake try Pas 2 3767 V, Sr 6620 for TBS Japan feed

A reminder for those wanting to email Globecast you can use the following email address [email protected].

From my Emails & ICQ

From Steve Hume

Pas 2 Fox News FTA

FOX NEWS
Panamsat 2 3992 V SR 26470 FEC: 7/8 VID: 1560AUD: 1520PCR: 1560
Is currently FTA

NEWS 24x7
Steve Hume

From Zapara in W.A

Panamsat 10 Screenshots

TV Moda, TGRT, ATV, Video Italia

DD Sports, Jain TV, NDTV 24x7, NDTV India

Public Tv of Armenia, SIC Internacional, TV Polonia, YTN

ESC 1, GEO Pakistan, FETV,DD India

Asiasat 3 Screenshots

TVB 8, Sahara Samay National, Sahara uttar pradesh, PTV National

From the Dish

Optus B3 152E 12531 V "Thai TV Global Network" has started, Fta. PIDs 1760/1720.ERT Sat and TRT International have left, replaced by a test cards.

Measat 2 148E 11602 H "Sky TV" has started, Viaccess 2, PIDs 304/305.

NSS 6 95E 11543 V "NTD TV" is now encrypted in BISS.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3520 H "RNW 3" has started, Fta, APID 7204.
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3640 H "Radio Greece" has replaced Sout Al-Arab , Fta, APID 670.
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3671 H New PIDs for all channels in the RR Sat mux
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3671 H "BVN TV, Fashion TV and RNW 3" have started, Fta, PIDs 34/35,1121/1122, 3105/3106 and 82.

PAS 10 68.5E 3897 V "NDTV 24x7" has left , PIDs 35/46, replaced by occasional NDTV feeds.
PAS 10 68.5E 4184 V "Future TV USA and ERT Sat" have replaced ESC 2 and RTR Planeta on ,Fta, PIDs 4129/4130 and 4145/4146. (Can anyone in Australia get this one?)

NEWS

AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE RAID SUSPECTED SUBSCRIPTION TELEVISION PIRATES IN PERTH.

From Media Release

The Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA) announced that yesterday, the Australian Federal Police executed search warrants at six premises in Perth in the first major crackdown on subscription television piracy in Western Australia.

The warrants were the result of joint investigations instigated by FOXTEL, targeting the sale and distribution of unauthorised pirate smart cards, which allow illegal access to FOXTEL and AUSTAR subscription television channels. The investigations targeted satellite television, alarm and electrical businesses alleged to be involved in large-scale subscription television piracy in metropolitan Perth and regional Western Australia.

On Tuesday 23 September 2003, Federal Agents executed search warrants at six premises situated in Morley, East Victoria Park, Ellenbrook, Tuart Hill and Belmont.Federal Agents seized a number of items of property which were allegedly used in the manufacture and sale of pirate smart cards.

The Australian Federal Police are continuing investigations and will submit briefs of evidence to the Director of Public Prosecutions in respect to possible offences under Section 135AS of the Copyright Act 1968.

Debra Richards, ASTRA’s Executive Director, representing AUSTAR, FOXTEL & OPTUS, said, “These investigations show the continued resolve of the subscription television industry, working together with Australian Federal Police, to fight piracy of our service throughout Australia. Our genuine subscribers are being hurt by piracy, so we are making a concerted effort to fight back at the pirates by increasing our policing investigations throughout Australia to sta mp it out.” “We hope today’s announcement will send a clear warning to people in Western Australia not to be hoodwinked into becoming involved in piracy activity. Piracy is a crime. If in any doubt, or if pirate activity is suspected, you are urged to report it to us through our special piracy hotline on 1800 428888.”

Anti-piracy Hotline: 1800 428 888

A hotline has been established by the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association to enable suspected piracy activity to be reported anonymo usly.

For further information please contact
Debra Richards
ASTRA 02 9200 1486; mobile 0418236174
www.astra.org.au

Korea, Japan Agree On Adjustment Of Satellite DMB Frequency

From http://english.etnews.co.kr/news/detail_top.html?id=200309260001&art_grad=9

The Ministry of Information and Communication of Korea said Thursday that it has entered with its counterpart of Japan an agreement for adjustment of satellite digital multimedia broadcast (DMB) frequency.

Now that Korea and Japan agreed on the satellite DMB frequency, which has been one of major hurdles to introducing the new broadcast system, Korea is expected to acquire the broadcast frequency band if it successfully adjusts satellite networks with China next month.

Frequencies agreed by the two countries are between 2.630GHz and 2.655GHz, and these spectrums will be jointly used by SK Telecom in Korea and Japan's MBCo for their satellite DMB services.

Apart from the government-level agreement, SK Telecom and MBCo signed a contract for joint ownership of the satellite on the same day in Tokyo.

Yet the introduction of satellite DMB service is subject to the adjustment of satellite networks with Chinese authorities. Korea's Information and Communication Ministry has already adjusted 5 out of a total of 7 satellite networks with China, and it intends to reach the final agreement at the 7th Korea-China satellite network adjustment conference slated for October 13 and 17 in Seoul.

"Prior to the official conference, the two countries are in working-level talks, and I am certain that the talks will bring affirmative results," said an official at the ministry. "Should China agree on adjustment of networks, Korea will have obtained consent from all countries involved."

After the satellite network adjustment with China is successfully completed next month, the ministry plans to submit the adjustment agreement notification for frequency registration to the ITU by the end of this year. Then the government will establish regulatory environment allowing the satellite DMB service next year.

Meanwhile, SK Telecom is responsible for some 92 billion won (approximately 79.8 million dollars) out of 265.4 billion won, the total price of the satellite, according to its agreement with MBCo. The two partners will also collaborate for successful commercialization of satellite DMB service by making cross investments to set up the corporate of satellite DMB, using patents free of charge, and developing technologies. After launching the satellite in January next year, the two enterprises plan to start commercial satellite DMB service during the latter part of next year, the first in the world.

Insat-3E to be launched on Sunday

From http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/Weekly2003/09.23.2003/India7.htm

NEW DELHI: After the delay in its launch for over a month due to problems in components, the exclusive communication satellite Insat-3E is all set for launch on Sunday.

The fourth in the Insat-3 series would be launched between 4.32 am and 4.50 am and would be put into orbit by "Ariane", the European space agency vehicle from Kourou in French Guyana, an official release said.

Insat-3A, 3B, 3C are already operational. Insat-3D - an exclusive met-satellite and the last in the series, was slated for launch during 2004, it said.

The satellite would replace Insat-2DT as well as transponders taken on lease, besides augmenting the present Insat capacity for telecommunication services

Sahara Samay-Mumbai 'test launches' Friday

From http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k3/sep/sep239.htm

MUMBAI: Sahara Samay-Mumbai, Sahara Group's western India-specific news channel, which was supposed to officially launch tomorrow (26 September), will make a "test launch at 9 am", according to channel head Rajiv K Bajaj.

"Starting tomorrow, we will have eight hours of fresh news everyday. This is a test period, during which time we well check the signals, look for glitches, and fine tune the system. The real launch will happen some time after the festival of Dassera," Bajaj told indiantelevision.com.

Pitched against a plethora of Hindi language news channels, the USP of Sahara Samay-Mumbai is that it will cover Maharashtra, parts of Gujarat and Goa. "Our credo is to cover news from your neighbourhood. Not just that, we will also find solutions to civic and community problems. In short, our channel will be a tabloid on television," Bajaj explained.

Special programmes in the channel will include the RKB Show, anchored by Bajaj himself; Do Peher, Kai Raste, a show on social awareness anchored by Kunika Lall; Campus Calling, a show on teens and Panchnama, a show on crime in the city, among others.

In order to attract the elderly audience, a religious programme will be aired every morning at 6 am. The show will only concentrate on religious news only. "We are also going to cover business in a very unique way. We will look into the retailing business, and how it affects the common man," Bajaj says.

Starting tomorrow evening, the Sahara Samay crew will telecast live shows of 'Dandiya Raas' in the city. Present at the venue with the Sahara team will be Aadesh Srivatsav, singer Sapna Mukenrjee and a new talent every day for the next nine days.

Bajaj anticipates the channel to be a big success because, "the entire country has a great fascination for Mumbai".

Sahara Samay Mumbai has a strong team of 25 reporters in Mumbai itself. Besides the channel's national bureau will also offer support.

As for Kunika Lall's role in the channel, Bajaj said, "She will be our anchor and news reader. She was among the few people we auditioned and we discovered that she was really good at news reading."

(Craigs comment, Well its tomorrow now! so it should be up and running. Remember Bullock Cart racing fans this is the channel for you ;-) )

From Joe

C1 FTA again

12398 H 27800
12489 H 27800
12358 H 27800