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SAT-NA V1.7
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From: Satellite Journal <71165.2032@compuserve.com>
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Date: Fri, 8 Nov 1996 00:04:21 -0500
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From owner-sat-na@tags1.dn.net Fri Nov 8 00: 10:09 1996
Satellite News
from America
V1.9 1 November 1996
This news is co-sponsored by TELE-satellit and Satellite Journal Itl.
The information contained MAY NOT be republished or redistributed
without the prior written authority of Satellite Journal
International
World News
Hughes selects Delta III for five launches
Hughes Space and Communications International, Inc., of
Los Angeles has announced the selection of the new Delta III
to launch five satellites Hughes is building for ICO Global
Communications, beginning in 1999.
The ICO system will be made up of 10 operating Hughes
HS-601 spacecraft, plus two spares, in two intermediate
circular orbital planes at 6,430 miles above the Earth. The
system will provide satellite-enabled global phone, data
facsimile and messaging services, primarily through hand-
held phones. The system will be operated by ICO Global
Communications, Ltd.
Hughes became the first customer for Delta III last
year, signing a long- term contract for 10 launches plus
options. They have since exercised three options for a
total of 13 firm launches.
Delta III is a next-generation expendable launch
vehicle being developed by McDonnell Douglas to target the
medium to intermediate payload range, where market
opportunities are expanding. The payload capacity for Delta
III is 8,400 pounds to geosynchrous transfer orbit, more
than twice the payload capacity of the record-setting Delta
II.
The most significant changes in Delta III's evolution
from the existing Delta II are a new single-engine,
cryogenically-propelled upper stage and a larger fairing to
house the payload. The inaugural flight of Delta III is
scheduled for 1998 when Hughes Communications, Inc.'s Galaxy
X launches from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Fla.
PanAmSat Creates Internet Connection
PanAmSat Corporation is now providing PT. Primacom
with satellite-based Internet connection between PanAmSat's
teleport in Sylmar, Calif., and PT. Primacom's facility in
Jakarta, Indonesia. PT. Primacom contracted the PanAmSat
service on behalf of sister company CBN.Net, which is now
able to provide retail Internet access in Indonesia. The
internet transmissions, via PanAmSat's PAS-2 Pacific Ocean
Region satellite, commenced earlier this month.
The PAS-2 service consists of 4 MHz on the satellite's
C-band Pacific Rim beam. PT. Primacom is relaying Internet
traffic via PAS-2 from an on-site antenna at CBN.Net*s
office in Jakarta to PanAmSat's Pacific Ocean Region
teleport in Sylmar, Calif. A dedicated fibre link in Sylmar
then forwards the traffic directly to the Internet,
providing users in Indonesia with full access to the World
Wide Web.
Sportmania adds NFL programming
NFL games and highlights are once again available to TV
viewers in Spain. The NFL has renewed broadcasting
agreements with Canal+ and its satellite sports channel,
Sportmania, in Spain. In addition to NFL games, Canal+
broadcasts NFL highlights each week during its lunchtime
sports show, Mas Deporte, and will culminate the season by
airing Super Bowl XXXI on January 26 live from New Orleans.
The NFL touchdowns on GLA
Galaxy Latin America is now offering a weekly package
of NFL games to home DirecTv subscribers throughout Latin
America and the Caribbean.
The 1996 NFL games included in the package, called PASE
NFL, will be available at no charge to subscribers. PASE NFL
is part of Direct Event.
In Mexico, subscribers will be able to view up to eight
games per week. Everywhere else subscribers will be able to
watch up to 13 games each week. Next year up to 200 games
will be available.
"With the addition of PASE NFL, our Latin American
subscribers can enjoy the regular season of the most popular
sport in the U.S., and it is offered at no additional charge
as a bonus for subscribing to DirecTv," said Rick Moe, GLA's
vice president of marketing.
PanAmSat opens Africa marketing office
PanAmSat Corporation announced that its Africa
marketing office in Johannesburg, South Africa, is open and
ready to meet growing customer demands for PanAmSat's global
satellite services. PanAmSat Africa (Proprietary) Limited
will be the first point of contact for African broadcasters,
telecommunications providers and corporations to receive
information on PanAmSat's worldwide capabilities, including
one upcoming and two current satellites serving the African
continent.
PanAmSat currently operates two satellites serving
Africa: PAS-3 over the Atlantic Ocean Region and PAS-4 over
the Indian Ocean Region. Both PAS-3 and PAS-4 provide pan-
Africa satellite services for broadcast and
telecommunications applications. In addition, PAS-4 is the
satellite platform for direct-to-home (DTH) television
services in South Africa offered by MultiChoice/Orbicom and
SABC/Sentech.
Globalstar, IRIDIUM, Odyssey
The operators of "Big LEO" systems Globalstar, IRIDIUM,
and Odyssey have agreed to cooperate in an effort to secure
global authorizations for the portions of the radio
frequency spectrum to be used by their mobile phones.
Globalstar and Odyssey, which employ CDMA, or code
division multiple access, share a segment of spectrum for
their mobile links. That spectrum segment can accommodate
other global systems employing compatible technologies.
IRIDIUM, a TDMA, or time division multiple access, system
uses a separate segment for its mobile links.
"Our agreement conforms with the International
Telecommunication Union's frequency authorizations for
global mobile systems. We think it provides a workable
framework for countries around the world to adopt," added
Francis Latapie, Iridium LLC executive director for
government affairs.
PanAmSat will appeal lower court's antitrust
PanAmSat Corporation will appeal the U.S. district
court's dismissal of PanAmSat's antitrust lawsuit against
Comsat Corporation.
The company's complaint alleged that Comsat engaged in
anticompetitive conduct, including a worldwide boycott, in
an attempt to harm PanAmSat and thwart competition.
PanAmSat notified the court of its intentions to appeal on
October 2, 1996.
PanAmSat will ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Second Circuit to review the lower court's refusal to
consider direct evidence of Comsat's anticompetitive
activity. The refusal was based on what the lower court
determined to be Comsat's immunity from U.S. antitrust laws
due to its status as a partial owner, or signatory, of the
treaty-based Intelsat organization, which operates a global
satellite system.
Sky Entertainment Services Licenses Macrovision
Sky Entertainment Services will implement Macrovision
copy protection in its satellite uplink centers and in the
digital set-top boxes it will deploy throughout its network.
As part of its agreement with Macrovision, Sky Entertainment
Services will include copy protection control capability in
its system software, and will require copy protection
capability for its digital set-top boxes.
North American News
Thomson urges adoption of digital HDTV standard
Thomson's executive vice president at a news conference
at the NAB headquarters sais that the FCC approval of a new
broadcast transmission standard "will unleash a new wave of
investment and job creation."
Without a clearly mandated standard, he warned,
"consumer electronics manufacturers will be reluctant to
invest in the development and production of widescreen,
digital HDTV receivers." He predicted that "a favorable FCC
vote this year will assure mid-1998 introduction of the
first digital television receivers in concert with the
broadcast industry."
As for the impact on consumers, Clayton said that
mandating a standard is "the only way to guarantee a rapid
transition from today's NTSC to the world of digital
broadcasting, while assuring compatibility of all TV sets
throughout the United States."
Adoption of the new standard, he said, "will give
consumers enormous choice as they enter the digital
television era. It will mean that TV receiver
manufacturers, with the benefit of high-volume production,
will be able to offer consumers a full range of high-
performance, cost-effective and reliable digital sets, just
as we have done with analog color TVs for more than four
decades."
TCI Satellite Entertainment Acquires Equity
TCI Satellite Entertainment Inc.has purchased an equity
interest in LodgeNet's residential subsidiary, ResNet
Communications, Inc. TCI Satellite has agreed to
immediately acquire 4.99% of ResNet's common stock for $5.4
million. In addition, TCI Satellite will advance ResNet
Communications, Inc. $34.6 million over the next five years,
the proceeds of which to be used to purchase Ku band
satellite receiver equipment, in exchange for a note that
will convert into a 36.99% equity interest in ResNet.
ResNet installs and operates private cable television
systems in apartment complexes throughout the United States.
NBA Forces Blackout of Bulls on WGN
As a result of the NBA's continuing six-year legal
attack on the delivery of Chicago Bulls basketball on
superstation WGN, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has
issued a decision under which the Chicago Bulls' games are
temporarily barred from the national satellite feed. The
case now returns to federal district court, the same court
which has repeatedly rejected the NBA's ongoing attempts to
limit telecasts.
"Our satellite carriage of WGN has been specifically
targeted by the NBA to test the legal limits of the league's
authority over teams' television rights," said Roy Bliss,
President & Chief Operating Officer of UVTV. "Through
ongoing complicated legal maneuverings, the NBA has been
able to expand its monopolistic power to include the WGN
satellite audience and deny Bulls' games to the masses. The
NBA's vendetta against UVTV and its WGN carriage robs cable
television viewers of seeing the Bulls in action."
WGN is continuing to aggressively pursue every
legal avenue and UVTV is optimistic that the court will
ultimately rule in WGN's and UVTV's favor. Until the federal
court rules however, the Bulls' games must be pre-empted on
the UVTV satellite feed, beginning with the Bulls' home
opener November 2 against the Philadelphia 76ers. Games
will be replaced by popular programming such as movies and
popular first-run action-adventure programming.
General Instrument
General Instrument Corporation reported sales for
the third quarter ended September 30, 1996 of $662 million,
an increase of 18% from the third quarter of 1995. Thei
growth was partially offset by the weakness in the consumer
satellite business as a result of continued 1996 softness in
demand for VideoCipher analog satellite modules and
receivers for C-band consumers and recent lower orders from
PRIMESTAR Partners for digital satellite receivers. Fourth
quarter orders and shipments for consumer satellite products
are expected to be below prior year levels.
WavePhore and PBS National Datacast Partner
WavePhore, Inc.and PBS National Datacast, Inc.
announced the establishment of a new, full service,
nationwide datacasting network from which consumers and
businesses will receive a variety of content, including
Internet related news and information, delivered to their
personal computers (PCs) via the vertical blanking interval
(VBI) of the television signals of the Public Broadcasting
Service (PBS) and its member stations. WavePhore, Inc. is
the industry leader in the wireless data broadcasting of
real-time news and information to personal computers.
WavePhore will distribute digital data and information
over PBS National Datacast's data broadcasting network of
more than 250 PBS member television stations which reaches
about 99% of television households in the United States.
The new consumer network will be added to WavePhore's other
managed networks which include business-to-business data
transmission over the VBI through the Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation, in addition to such technologies as small dish
satellite, FM radio subcarriers, and television in- band
(TVT1/4).
The data transmitted by WavePhore will be available off
of the TV signal to PCs equipped with VBI decoder
technology, like Intercast, or by installing add-on boards
with WavePhore decoding technology to existing PCs. "This is
an important step in WavePhore's strategy to offer
datacasting to the consumer market," stated David E. Deeds,
Chairman, President and CEO of WavePhore, Inc. With this new
network in place we now have the ability to reach virtually
every
home and business in the United States. Our partnership
with PBS National Datacast provides us with immediate access
to virtually all of the U.S. population."
American Sky Broadcasting Chooses Sony
American Sky Broadcasting L.L.C. has selected Sony for
its new broadcast facility. The new facility will rely on
Sony's advanced digital broadcast technologies to deliver
more than 300 channels of entertainment and news
programming. Built around Sony's MPEG-2 4:2:2 compression
standard, the center will use Sony's advanced family of
video storage, transmission and automation systems
complementing the ASkyB Digital Video Broadcast (DVB)
transmission format.
GATEWAY
Gateway 2000, Inc.announced a program through which
purchasers of selected systems and a programming package can
get a free DISH Network digital satellite receiver as part
of a agreement with EchoStar Communications Corp.
For a limited time, buyers of Destination Big Screen
PC, Family PC and XL systems can acquire a satellite
receiver system, normally valued at $199, at no cost with
the purchase of a one-year subscription to America's Top 40
CD Programming Package for $300. A coupon for the free
receiver and information about the programming package will
be shipped with Destination, Family PC and XL systems.
European News
BBC's Digital Bouquet
The BBC released more information on their plans for a
digital bouquet .
One-TV: a MuchMusic style channel based on the BBC's Radio 1
content.
Showcase: a classic drama and comedy channel .
Horizons: archive factual programmes.
Style: leisure and lifestyle programming.
Arena: music, theatre and arts programming including daily
reviews.
Sports Entertainment Network: news, live phone-ins and
comment from BBC presenters.
BBC Catch Up TV: offering repeats of recent programmes
viewers may have missed. (previously announced)
Scientific-Atlanta Links Hospitals
General Directorate of Posts und Telekom Austria (PTA)
is using Scientific-Atlanta's PowerVu digital video
compression system for VideoCast, PTA's business television
(BTV) service. VideoCast provides connectivity for Hospital
TV, a BTV network of the Barmherzigen Br|der Hospitals in
Austria.
Hospital TV is operated for the PTA from
Eisenstadt, Austria, the site of both the first hospital
installation and the network's broadcast studio. Initial
programming will last for approximately two hours each day
with the network ultimately extending to include hospitals
and clinics across Europe using the EUTELSAT II-F3
satellite. The programming will also be available to cable
TV companies.
Global Access leases INTELSAT 703 transponder
Global Access announced that it will lease a 36 MHz C-
band Global Beam transponder on INTELSAT 703 at 57 degrees
East.
Global Access, an INTELSAT direct access customer, will
split the transponder into four digital channels.
Responding to market demand, Global Access is dedicating two
MCPC channels to occasional-use news, sports and
entertainment programme feeds for broadcast and cable
network customers, retaining one channel for a full-time
lease. The company will use the final channel for digital
satellite news gathering (DSNG).
Global Access will lease one of the channels on its
INTELSAT IOR Global Beam to Satellite Information Services
(SIS). SIS will use the channel to broadcast its full-time
horseracing programme from the UK to sites spanning Africa
to South East Asia, replacing its existing analogue service.
NTL will provide the UK ground services to the
transponder for Global Access, including connections from
central London and transmission via its 13m uplink located
at NTL headquarters in Crawley Court, Winchester.
Global Access will launch the MCPC service via the
transponder from London, using Scientific Atlanta's PowerVu
MPEG 2 compression system to provide three 8 mbps TV
channels. The DSNG channel will make up the final 9 MHz of
the transponder. The INTELSAT 703 footprint includes
Europe, Africa, Western Australia, Confederation of
Independent States, South and East Asia.
Sainsbury's Uses Scientific-Atlanta's PowerVu
BT Global Satellite Services has been chosen by
supermarket giant Sainsbury's to provide a Scientific-
Atlanta PowerVu satellite digital business television (BTV)
network for its 364 stores across the United Kingdom.
Initially, the service will relay live, interactive programs
featuring corporate and industry news for viewing in stores
across the country, including Northern Ireland where the
first store opens in December 1996. Programs will be
distributed via the BT teleport in London using the EUTELSAT
EII-F3 satellite.
Washington Watch
COMSAT Corporation has filed an application for
authority to participate in a program for the construction
of an INTELSAT Ku-band satellite, K-TV, and procurement of
associated launch vehicle services. As proposed, the K-TV
satellite would be located at 95 E.L. and would provide DTH
satellite television and other video and broadband services
to Australia, the People's Republic of China, Indonesia,
India, Japan, Korea and Singapore.
AMSC Subsidiary Corporation has filed an application
for modification of its AMSC-1satellite. In the
application, AMSC seeks to modify AMSC-1 by repointing the L-
band antennas on the satellite 0.5 degrees east and reducing
the amount of spectrum used in the eastern beam. AMSC is
currently operating the satellite with this modifications
pursuant to special temporary authority.
Echostar is the new partner of Medcom one of the three
competitors for the DTH market in Latin America, principally
Mexico. Echostar is planning to send the signal to Mexico
with its two satellites and then Medcom will make an uplink
to the Solidaridad satellite to serve the Latin American
region. The partnership is pending until FCC approval.
CES Upcoming Events
- 1997 International Winter Consumer Electronics Show
January 9-12, Las Vegas, NV
- 1997 CES Mobile Electronics_The 12-Volt Educational
Forum
April 4-6, Atlanta, GA
- Spring CES `97 co-located with COMDEX/Spring and
WINDOWS WORLD
June 2-5, Atlanta, GA
- CES Habitech `97 -- The Home Systems Trade & Training
Show
June 24-26, Dallas, TX
- CES Mexico `97
October 8-1O, Mexico City, Mexico
Upcoming Launches
- Check our web site for an updated listing of 1997
launches. Click on "Launch Info".
New files and documents at our WebStand
* DVB News International Vol. 1 No 11 available Nov.10th
* PBS November programming schedule
* A&E November Prime Time schedule
In Brief
- AlphaStar has reached an agreement to provide the
signal for free-to-guest basic services and programming to
Skylink America, Inc.'s 800 properties in the U.S.
- VLSI Technology, Inc.reported operating results for the
third quarter of fiscal 1996. Revenues for the third
quarter were $183.0 million, as compared to $188.2 million
in the third quarter of 1995 and $182.5 million in the
second quarter of 1996.
- Qatar's first satellite channel starts this Friday.
Operated by Qatar Satellite Channel Corporation, it will
feature political, economic and sports events as well as
talkshows and entertainment.
- PRIMESTAR will add Nick at Nite's TV Land and COMEDY
CENTRAL to its basic lineup, starting November 5, 1996.
PRIMESTAR will also add The TV Food Network and Courtroom
Television Network (Court TV) to its lineup. These additions
will be available when PRIMESTAR transitions to the GE-2
satellite.
- TV/COM has signed an agreement with Advantec Network
Systems Pvt. Ltd. to jointly pursue the Indian cable
market. Under the agreement, Advantec will market TV/COM's
analog products throughout India, Nepal, Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh, Pakistan, Maldives, Butan and Myanmar.
- NBC Asia has launched its digital television service in
India through News Corp.'s Star TV unit's multi-channel
package on the AsiaSat-2 satellite.
- Motorola Inc. plans to build a 6.1 billion U.S. dollars
satellite network in the next four years that can send
voice, video and data to companies anywhere in the world.
The project, called M-Star, will be designed to help speed
up communications through private corporate networks. It
will have 72 connected satellites in low orbits and can be
operating as early as 2000.
- Loral Space & Communications Ltd. plans to privately
offer $400 million of Convertible Preferred Equivalent
Obligations due 2006. Loral intends to use the proceeds from
the sale for general corporate purposes, which may include
investments in SKYNET, Globalstar and other satellite
communications opportunities.
- AsiaSat-3 satellite will be launched in November next
year, according to Asia Satellite Telecommunications
Company.
- Loral Corp plans to increase its ownership in Space
Systems/Loral to 100 percent. It already owned 51 percent of
Space Systems, after buying an 18.3 percent interest from
the Lehman Partnerships in August.
- The FCC once again has denied Telquest Ventures and
Tele-Communications Inc to beam TV programs across the
United States from a Canadian orbital satellite slot.
- Canal Plus has signed a long-term agreement with
Columbia TriStar's International Television unit to
broadcast Columbia/TriStar films on Canal Plus and its
Kiosque satellite pay-per-view channel.
(c) Satellite Journal International - TELE-satellit
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/satellite_journal/
http://www.tele-satellit.com
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