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Sat-na May 5th 1997
Sat-na
May, 5
1997
PanAmSat Reschedules PAS-6 Satellite
News Corp., EchoStar Plan May Unravel
CD Radio & Loral commence satellite construction
ExpressVu To Buy Majority Of Telesat's DBS Satellite
Telesat signs contract to provide engineering expertise
to Korea
California Microwave supplies Ku-band Satellite Network
AT&T Withdraws Application for Ka-band Satellite Licenses
Boeing to build Teledesic's 'Internet-in-the-Sky'
Three studies find Dow Jones companies increasing share
Brazilian satellite SACI to be launched in 1998
CSG Systems Signs Third DBS Client
AlphaStar Canada Unveils Expanded Channel Line-up
Television Nacional de Chile
TSAT Successfully Completes First Test
In Brief
PanAmSat Reschedules PAS-6 Satellite
PanAmSat reported the launch of its PAS-6 Atlantic
Ocean Region satellite has been rescheduled for late summer
1997. Based on the recommendations of Space Systems/Loral,
the PAS-6 spacecraft supplier, PanAmSat has postponed the
launch to determine what, if any, changes should be made to
the power system on the spacecraft.
PanAmSat's decision to reschedule the PAS-6 launch is
in response to Space Systems/Loral's ongoing investigation
into the cause of a power decrease on another Space
Systems/Loral spacecraft with a similar power system. Space
Systems/Loral will continue to investigate the cause of that
anomaly, identify potential fixes to the power system and
integrate those changes, if any, into the PAS-6 satellite.
Arianespace, the PAS-6 launch provider, has indicated its
ability to accommodate the revised PAS-6 launch timetable.
Arianespace has immediately started the
preparation campaign for the next launch: Flight 97 targeted
for June 3rd will place into orbit the multi-mission
satellite INSAT 2D for India and INMARSAT 3F4 mobile
telecommunications satellite for the international
organisation Inmarsat.
Sky Entertainment Services, the primary user of PAS-6,
response was, ``While we are disappointed with the
rescheduling of PAS-6's launch, we firmly support PanAmSat
Corporation in its decision to investigate any potential
complications that could restrict the satellite's total
performance once in orbit. It is much easier and more cost-
effective to deal with these matters now while access to the
satellite on the ground is readily available. As we stated
in November, the launch delay does not significantly alter
our operational plans. The 12 transponders we currently
lease on PAS-3 will enable us to continue offering our
service to subscribers while preparing Sky's expansion
throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.''
News Corp., EchoStar Plan May Unravel
News Corp.'s planned $1 billion investment in EchoStar
maybe in danger due to a dispute over terms of their
agreement amongst other things.
EchoStar and News Corp.'s ASkyB had planned Hart-Scott-
Rodino and FCC filings in connection with the transaction by
the end of April 1997. However News Corp. informed EchoStar
that it does not intend to proceed with its investment in
EchoStar unless EchoStar commits to abandon its current
Nagra, S.A. conditional access system.
News Corp. has requested that EchoStar instead use a
News Corp. conditional access system. EchoStar has
requested additional information from News Corp. to further
consider whether the News Corp. conditional access system
can meet the criteria for use set out in the binding letter
agreement between the parties.
News Corp. has also informed EchoStar that it believes
other matters must be resolved between the parties before
News Corp. will proceed with the transaction. The rumour is
Rupert Murdoch and EchoStar's chief Charlie Ergen are
clashing over management issues and the alliance may not
hold. Both CEO's are known for their distinctive management
style and a possible rift over control may lie at the
bottom of this latest dispute.
If the deal were to fall apart, Murdoch could be liable
for financial obligations under the agreement. The agreement
stipulates that Murdoch must lend as much $200 million to
Echostar if regulatory approval were denied. It is not clear
if one party were to back out whether this part of the
agreement would apply. In any case, EchoStar will need a
cash infusion in the near term to continue.
Echostar and ASkyB also need to replace some top
management due to their departure in advance of the planned
merger. The latest resignation came this week from ASkyB.
Preston Padden, the head of ASkyB who was involved in
negotiations with EchoStar, submitted his resignation
CD Radio & Loral commence satellite construction
CD Radio and Space Systems/Loral report that
construction of CD Radio's satellite-to-car radio broadcast
system has commenced, with Loral building two digital audio
radio service (DARS) satellites for CD Radio. The satellites
will provide high-quality digital radio broadcasts to
automobiles in the continental United States.
Under the contract, Loral will build and deliver two
satellites for launch in 1999, and has an option to build
one additional satellite.
The satellites will be based on Space Systems/Loral's
FS-1300, three-axis stabilised spacecraft and will have a
mission life in excess of 15 years.
ExpressVu To Buy Majority Of Telesat's DBS Satellite
ExpressVu Inc. will acquire 17 of the 32 transponders
that will be available on Telesat Canada's new DBS Satellite
when it launches in September, 1998. The move to the DBS
satellite will ensure ExpressVu subscribers have access to
an expanded line-up of more than 180 channels of video TV
programming, CD-quality music and high speed data services
such as internet.
ExpressVu will begin offering its DTH service on a 24"
dish, and has acquired enough Canadian satellite space on
Telesat's existing Anik E2 satellite to launch this summer
with as many as 100 video and CD-quality music channels.
Earlier this year, the company acquired the rights to
EchoStar's end-to-end DTH technology and the exclusive use
of EchoStar's DISH brand in Canada.
ExpressVu will switch to an 18" dish once it moves to
Telesat's DBS high-powered satellite which will be located
at 91 deg. WL.
Telesat signs contract to provide engineering expertise to
Korea
Telesat Canada has signed a contract with Korea
Telecom, for the provision of technical consulting services
associated with the construction, launch and in-orbit
testing of the KoreaSat-3 broadcast and communications
satellite.
The contract appoints Telesat as a consultant to Korea
Telecom during the design, construction and testing of the
KoreaSat-3 satellite, to be manufactured by California-based
Lockheed Martin, using their A2100 bus. In this capacity,
Telesat will provide technical services to support the
monitoring activities of Korea Telecom, and will also
provide independent monitoring of the construction
activities. Telesat field-office personnel will be located
at Sunnyvale and Newtown, the locations respectively of the
bus and payload manufacturing facilities of Lockheed Martin.
The Republic of Korea's third multi-purpose
communications satellite is scheduled for launch in August,
1999.
California Microwave supplies Ku-band Satellite Network
California Microwave's Satellite Transmission Systems
(STS) division has won a contract valued at approximately $6
million from Empresa Brasileira de Telecomunicacoes S.A.
(EMBRATEL) for the turnkey supply and installation of a Ku-
band satellite communications network.
The satellite communications network includes a 7.6-
meter hub station to be located at EMBRATEL in Agua Santa,
Rio de Janeiro, along with 150 VSAT terminals to be
installed in various regions throughout Brazil. The system
will provide voice and data communications at data
transmission rates of up to 2 Mbps over any link. The STAR
configured network will be an intregal part of the Satellite
Communications Brazilian System (SBTS) and operate over the
INTELSAT VII-705 satellite. The order was booked in March
1997; initial service is planned for operation beginning
December 1997.
AT&T Withdraws Application for Ka-band Satellite Licenses
AT&T has withdrawn its application with the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) for license to construct and
launch geostationary satellites to provide a variety of
communications services.The company's Ka-band project was
called the AT&T VoiceSpan Satellite System.
The company's decision was based on an plan to
concentrate on businesses central to its core communications
services, including such growth areas as wireless, online
and local service. While Ka-band satellite technology
offers new possibilities, AT&T felt it would be a capital-
intensive initiative that doesn't align with its strategy.
Boeing to build Teledesic's 'Internet-in-the-Sky'
Boeing will become an equity partner in Teledesic and
serve as the prime contractor for the company's global,
broadband "Internet-in- the-sky."
Boeing will invest up to $100 million for 10 percent of
the current ownership of Teledesic, a private company whose
primary investors are telecommunications pioneer Craig McCaw
and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates.
As the prime contractor, Boeing will lead an
international effort to design, build and launch the
Teledesic Network. The estimated contract value will be $9
billion. Using a constellation of several hundred low-Earth-
orbit satellites, Boeing and Teledesic will create "fibre-
like" access to telecommunications services such as
broadband Internet access, videoconferencing and interactive
multimedia.
Three studies find Dow Jones companies increasing share
Asia Business News (ABN) and European Business News
(EBN), continue to increase their audience share, and are
widening their leads in their programming niche.
ABN is now on Japan's new satellite service, PerfecTV.
ABN is the only regional business channel with satellite
direct-to-home distribution in Japan. This will certainly
lengthen the lead shown in three different research studies
conducted over the past year. They consistently show ABN's
audience is at least three times greater than that of CNBC,
its business television competitor. ABN also ranks well
ahead of BBC in Asia. (Only CNN International does better
among news channels).
The new European Media Survey (EMS) -- the only
research to measure pan-European TV_shows that EBN is
gaining ground on all other international news channels in
Europe. Among business channels, EBN is watched by more
viewers, on both a daily and weekly basis, than is CNBC. In
the last year, EBN's daily viewership has grown 42%,
according to EMS, while that for NBC Europe (which carries
CNBC during the daytime) dropped 31%, and CNNI declined 6%.
The overall changes in viewing patterns are replicated among
sought-after demographic groups such as senior and middle
managers and corporate decision-makers: EBN viewing is up
sharply in these groups, while NBC, CNN and EuroNews are all
down. (Only BBC World also shows growth.)
European Business News is owned by a partnership
between affiliates of Dow Jones and Flextech, plc, an
affiliate of TCI International. Dow Jones owns 74% of EBN,
Flextech 26%. EBN began broadcasting in February 1995; it
now reaches more than 23 million homes. Its headquarters
are in London.
Asia Business News is also owned by affiliates of Dow
Jones and TCI International. Dow Jones and TCI each owns
50% of ABN. ABN began broadcasting in November 1993; it now
reaches more than 15 million homes. Its headquarters are in
Singapore.
Brazilian satellite SACI to be launched in 1998
A Chinese rocket will launch by early 1998 the
Brazilian scientific satellite SACI, being tested by the
space agency Inpe (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas
Espaciais). SACI will carry four experiments, and its
project is to cost total investments of US$4.5mil, with the
launching to cost US$150,000 funded by Finep.
CSG Systems Signs Third DBS Client
CSG Systems Inc. has signed a contract with ExpressVu
Inc. of Canada. CSG will provide its customer care and
billing systems, Communications Control System and CSG
Advanced Customer Service Representative, to support
ExpressVu's direct-to-home satellite entertainment and
information service.
CSG's CCS product is the outsourced customer management
system and ACSR is the front-end graphical user interface
for CCS. ACSR reduces training time and eliminates the need
for customer service representatives to memorise
transactions and codes, allowing them to easily access
reference tools, help screens and customer data.
CSG currently serves approximately 43 percent of all
DBS customers in the United States, which includes contracts
with EchoStar and four out of five companies in the
PrimeStar Partners consortium.
AlphaStar Canada Unveils Expanded Channel Line-up
Starting this summer, AlphaStar Canada will offer
Canadians up to 120 channels of digital video, audio and pay-
per-view. The proposed channel
offering will include existing Canadian, American and
international program sources, as well as a number of newly-
approved domestic and U.S. specialty channels. Currently,
the network is broadcasting 35 video, 30 audio and 10 pay-
per-view channels.
Some of AlphaStar Canada's new channels will include
TMN Multiplexes and MOVIEPIX, Television Quatre Saisons, and
western time zone channels such as BCTV, CITV, Superchannel
and Moviemax. The network also plans to carry a number of
new specialty channels currently awaiting licensing by the
CRTC.
AlphaStar Canada's planned migration to Loral Skynet's
new Telstar 5 satellite in mid-Summer will facilitate the
expanded channel count.
Television Nacional de Chile
Worldwide Television News Corporation (WTN) reported
that Television Nacional de Chile (Chilean National
Television) has contracted to become the newest subscriber
to WTN's 24 Hour Latin American News Service.
Through a network of twelve regional affiliates, the
Santiago-based network provides news programming to more
than 6 million television homes throughout Chile, also
reaching audiences in Argentina and Paraguay. Under the new
agreement, Television Nacional de Chile will have access to
all of WTN's news gathering resources, as well as the
ability to use WTN's permanent satellite paths to transmit
stories from its correspondents worldwide.
TSAT Successfully Completes First Test
TCI Satellite Entertainment successfully completed its
first high-power service marketing test, and the acceptance
by consumers of the Company's satellite-cable combination
product. TSAT offered a combination of digital satellite
service and cable to residents of Pueblo West, Colorado
through the local TCI system. Dubbed "MAXTV" for the
purposes of the test, TSAT offered the service to more than
1600 homes, resulting in a penetration of over 15 percent in
a nine week period. TSAT signed up over 240 customers to
the MAXTV service, while increasing the penetration of the
local TCI cable system by seven percent over the same time
period.
The MAXTV or "cable plus" model offered by TSAT
provided a combination of the programming strengths of
Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) with the advantages of wire-
line cable to local customers. For the MAXTV test, TSAT
offered customers over 70 channels of service, including
their local cable and broadcast networks, for $29.99 per
month (with a $49 installation fee). The MAXTV service test
combined 10 channels of pay-per-view, 14 digital audio
channels, 14 regional sports networks, The Disney Channel
and 10 core programming networks (including Turner Classic
Movies, TV Land, Sci-Fi, Comedy Central, and ESPN2)
delivered via satellite, with the 34 channels of service
offered through the local Pueblo cable feed. Furthermore,
multiplex channels of HBO, Cinemax and Starz/Encore were
offered as a la carte additions. Prior to the introduction
of MAXTV, the local cable system was unable to provide pay-
per-view, audio services or out-of-market sports, and was
limited to seven pay services without multiplex options.
In order to simulate the "cable plus" model, a
PRIMESTAR dish and antennae were used with a universal
remote control to provide easy transference between the
cable and satellite services. Only one set-top box was
necessary, as premium signals were trapped within the Pueblo
West system.
Upcoming Launches
Next Delta Launch Next Ariane Launch
THOR 2A -- May 11, 1997 INSAT 2D/INMARSAT 3F4 --June
3, 1997
In Brief
" AUSTAR, has received an underwritten commitment from
The Chase Manhattan Bank for AU$200 million (US$155
million). The proceeds will be used to fund the balance of
AUSTAR's subscriber acquisition and working capital needs in
its 1.5 million home franchise area.
" Star Choice has begun shipping its direct-to-home (DTH)
satellite television systems to retail outlets across
Canada. For a limited time only, the Star Choice 921 premium
digital satellite receiver, universal UHF remote, and 60 cm
dish will retail for C$999 with the purchase of a one-year
C$400 programming package. The Star Choice 921 receiver is
manufactured by General Instrument for Star Choice.
" DIRECTV JAPAN (DTVJ) named several new executive
appointments: Akira Yoshigi to vice president, director for
programming; Masanori Ueda to vice president, director for
sales; and Richard J. Neiger to vice president, director for
finance.
" COMSAT Corporation has acquired full ownership of
Mexican corporation IntelCom Red S.A. de C.V. (IntelCom
Mexico), a wholly owned subsidiary of ICG Satellite
Services, Inc., and named it COMSAT Mexico S.A. de C.V.
(COMSAT Mexico). COMSAT Mexico is part of COMSAT
International, a business unit of COMSAT Corporation that
provides digital network services to corporate customers and
carriers in rapidly growing international markets. COMSAT
Mexico holds a teleport license for both domestic and
international satellite communications and will provide
digital networking services through its teleport in Mexico
City.
Sat-na is sponsored by TELE-satelit International
http://www.tele-satellit.com
and produced by Satellite Journal International
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(c) Sat-na 1997
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