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SAT-na Monday June 2, 1997
Sat-na
June, 2
1997
AlphaStar seeks Chapter 11
Telstar 302- Telstar 5 Update
A Prime-Sky ?
GE-3
Australis Media makes announcement
PrimeTime 24 Files Antitrust Suit
DISH adds channels
AITech now developing HDTV
Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space
FCC Chairman Hundt To Retire
Dish Network changes its marketing plan
Satellite Measurements Suggest El Nino Is Brewing Again
DVB satellite receivers in China
Lockheed in new Russian telecom venture?
EU court rules on Cartoon TV
HBO launches two subscription TV channels
Upcoming Launches
In Brief
AlphaStar seeks Chapter 11
AlphaStar USA has filed proceedings pursuant to
Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Al Bahnman, the
President and Chief Executive Officer, tendered his
resignation from the Corporation and each of its
subsidiaries. AlphaStar's existing subscribers in both
Canada and the United States are currently continuing to
receive programming services.
In Canada, The Ontario Securities Commission issued a
temporary cease trading order against Tee-Comm on May 26 for
failure to make statutory filings.
Telstar 302- Telstar 5 Update
Telstar 302 was deactivated on May 20th and has been
allowed to drift slightly west to 97.1 degrees to allow room
for Telstar 5. Any satellite left to physics, will drift
normally to the west so no fuel was needed for this orbital
change.
Loral Skynet also released new simplified tariff rates.
Telstar 303 rates have not changed; $35 per 15 minutes or
$1300 per day. A reminder that T303 is in an inclined orbit
and only viewable twice a day by fixed TVRO dishes. Telstar
4 and 5 rates are $175 per 15 minutes.
A Prime-Sky ?
Rupert Murdoch was busy while Americans were
celebrating this Memorial weekend. It appears a tentative
accord to join PrimeStar Partners and ASkyB will be signed
this week.
There are a number hurdles to go including what to do
with those PrimeStar dishes and receivers and which orbital
location to use. Technically it would be better for
PrimeStar/ASkyB to use the orbital slot of ASkyB, sell the
PrimeStar slot and replace the hardware currently used by
PrimeStar.
If an agreement is signed, here's what would likely
happen. PrimeStar would be folded into the recently spun-off
TSAT and then ASkyB would be merged.. That would give
Murdoch a 30% share of the new company.
Time will tell what will happen with the law suit filed
by EchoStar but if a Prime/Sky deal is signed the PrimeStar
Partners will expect to be imdemnified from any lawsuits.
EchoStar and others in the industry will no doubt be asking
for government agencies to look into any deal that is
signed.
GE-3
GE has brought forward its planned launch of GE-3. The
launch has now been scheduled from Cape Canaveral no earlier
than August 27, eight weeks ahead of the original launch
date. GE-3 will be place at 83 degrees West for
approximately two weeks for testing and then drift to its
assigned slot of 87 degrees West The in-service date for
GE-3 is mid October.
Australis Media makes announcement
Australis Media Limited advises that the Supreme Court
of New South Wales delivered judgement in proceedings
brought by The News Corporation Ltd, Telstra Corporation Ltd
and Foxtel against Australis and Optus Vision Pty Ltd in
respect of the Satellite Joint Venture Agreement between
Australis and Optus Vision entered into in August 1996.
The Court held that the proposed implementation of the
Satellite Joint Venture Agreement would result in a breach
of the term (which the Court found to be implied in the
Agreement) that Australis remain the operator and in control
of its system for the distribution of pay television
services. The Court has made orders restraining Australis
from transferring assets in implementation of the Satellite
Joint Venture Agreement or otherwise transferring control of
its system for the distribution of pay television services
by satellite and MDS.
Australis is considering the Court's judgement
including whether it will lodge an appeal from the Court's
decision.
PrimeTime 24 Files Antitrust Suit
PrimeTime 24 has filed an antitrust action in
response to what it views as a concerted attempt by the
networks, affiliates and their trade organisations to
destroy it as a competitor.
According to Sid Amira, chairman and CEO of PrimeTime
24, "satellite technology, with its crystal clear digital
pictures and its 200-channel capacity, poses a growing
threat to the broadcast-cable establishment. Over 6 million
consumers have already switched to satellite. In order to
undercut the advantages of satellite, the networks and their
affiliates colluded to limit the access of satellite viewers
to network programming."
Amira said the suit was filed because the defendants
conspired to drive up PrimeTime 24's cost of doing business
by indiscriminately challenging the eligibility of massive
numbers of its subscribers and orchestrating those sham
challenges so as to disrupt PrimeTime 24's business
operations.
The PrimeTime 24 suit also alleges that the networks
and their affiliates and their trade organisations organised
an illegal group boycott of PrimeTime 24 and refused to
negotiate an agreement for the transmission of network
programming to consumers. Earlier this year, the networks
and their affiliates rejected outright PrimeTime 24's offer
of payment to transmit network programming to the satellite
audience, and refused to deal with PrimeTime 24.
"Our offer would have enabled consumers who so desired
to receive their favourite network programming over
satellite," said Amira. "Clearly, the result of their
refusing even to discuss our proposal was to deprive
thousands of consumers access to network programming and to
deny the direct broadcast satellite industry a level playing
field on which to compete."
According to the Complaint filed by PrimeTime 24, the
defendants "illegally misused their market power to insulate
themselves from the new competition (in the form of ...
better quality signals, an increase in the number of
channels, and an increase in the variety of programming)
that would be posed by the widespread entry of direct-to-
home satellite programming into the market."
DISH adds channels
DISH Network launched HBO Family and M2. channels on
June 1.M2 is the 24-hour sister service to MTV has been
added to the 50 channel package. HBO Family is also a 24-
hour channel devoted entirely to quality family-friendly
programming and has been added to the MultiChannel HBO
package.
Also DISH has added to the basic 40 channel package,
west Coast feeds of Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and Nick at
Nite.
AITech now developing HDTV
AITech International plans to develop a HDTV set-top
receiver that will meet new ADTS broadcast standards
established by the FCC.
The ADTS (ATSC Digital Television Standard) is part of
the FCC's recent approval of HDTV. AITech plans to deliver
the HDTV receiver within 18 months to meet the FCC's
schedule for ADTS broadcast. With an estimated price of
around $400, AITech's receiver will be a fraction of the
expected $5,000 cost of a new HDTV set.
The set-top box receives high-definition digital
broadcast signals and converts it to a format displayable on
any analogue TV or standard VGA PC monitor. Depending on
the resolution of the incoming signal, the receiver may
convert it into an analogue video signal which connects to
any existing analogue TV set via RF, composite, or S-VHS
connection. The receiver will also include an advanced
audio decoder to perform digital AC-3 decoding into 6
channels of multi-lingual or surround-sound audio.
Plans for the new set-top box include several
resolution choices: 1920 x 1080; 1280 x 720; 704 x 480; 640
x 480; with aspect ratios of 16:9 and 4:3; in 60 frames per
second (fps) progressive, 30 fps progressive, 60 fps
interlaced, or 24 fps progressive.
Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space
Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space will deliver eight
additional shipsets of hydrazine thrusters for the Iridium
Satellite program. Options exist for delivery of 1-20
shipsets/year through 2004.
This order represents eight each Electrothermal
Hydrazine Thrusters (EHTs) and 56 each 0.2-lbf hydrazine
thrusters which are used for boost and attitude correction
during satellite ascent/descent and for rate capture and
earth acquisition when establishing orbit. Delivery is
planned for delivery in late 1997 and part of constellation
of 66 satellites scheduled to begin commercial service in
1998.
Iridium launches three to five satellites at a time
using the Delta II , Proton and Long March rockets .
FCC Chairman Hundt To Retire
Reed Hundt, the current FCC chairman, is leaving the
FCC after 3 1/2 years. Hundt has asked President Clinton to
begin looking for a replacement and would step down as soon
as one is found. His reason for leaving is to spend more
time with his wife and three children.
Three people are considered on the short list for his
job. Kathy Wallman is Clinton's deputy assistant for
economic policy; William Kennard, the FCC's general counsel
and a nominee to be a FCC commissioner, and FCC Commissioner
Susan Ness.
Dish Network changes its marketing plan
Starting this week EchoStar has changed its marketing
plan. New subscribers can purchase programming packages on a
month-to-month basis after purchasing the $199 satellite
system.
The $199 price is for the infrared 3000 system and the
4000 UHF system is priced at $299. Also the EchoStar 5000
receiver will sell at a suggested retail price of $499.
Satellite Measurements Suggest El Nino Is Brewing Again
Simultaneous ocean measurements taken by two
orbiting NASA science instruments suggest that another
weather-disrupting El Nino condition may be developing in
the Pacific Ocean, with the potential of altering global
weather patterns next winter.
Sea-surface height measurements taken by the radar
altimeter onboard the joint U.S.-French TOPEX/POSEIDON
satellite and wind data collected by the NASA Scatterometer
on Japan's Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (ADEOS) are
being used together for the first time to diagnose changing
oceanographic and atmospheric conditions in the tropical
Pacific Ocean.
The TOPEX/POSEIDON satellite uses an altimeter to
bounce radar signals off the ocean's surface to get precise
measurements of the distance between the satellite and the
sea surface. These data are combined with measurements from
other instruments that pinpoint the satellite's exact
location in space. Every ten days, scientists produce a
complete map of global ocean topography, the barely
perceptible hills and valleys found on the sea surface.
With detailed knowledge of ocean topography, scientists can
then calculate the speed and direction of world-wide ocean
currents.
The NASA scatterometer uses an array of stick-like
antennas that radiate radar pulses in the Ku-band across
broad regions of the Earth's surface. The way the radar
signal bounces off the ocean's surface allows scientists to
calculate both wind speed and direction. At any given time,
NSCAT's antennas scan two swaths of ocean_one on either side
of the satellite's near-polar, sun-synchronous 500-mile (800-
kilometre) orbit. The scatterometer takes 190,000 wind
measurements per day, mapping more than 90 percent of the
world's ice-free oceans every two days.
TOPEX/POSEIDON: http://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/topex
NSCAT: http://winds.jpl.nasa.gov
NCEP:
http://nic.fb4.noaa.gov:80/products/analysis_monitoring/enso
_advisory/index.html
DVB satellite receivers in China
General Instrument Corporation has signed a letter of
intent to co-produce the first digital DVB satellite
receivers in China with joint venture partners Xi'an Yellow
River New Era Co., Ltd. and China Radio & Television Co. in
the High Tech Development Zone in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province.
The letter of intent calls for the joint venture
manufacture of GI's Magnitude MPEG-2 DVB SR-3300 receivers.
The receivers will be marketed to all of China's provinces.
Lockheed in new Russian telecom venture?
Lockheed Martin International is rumoured to be about
to sign a joint venture with Russian firm Intersputnik.
Lockheed would hold a majority stake in the venture and the
partnership would launch a series of satellites aimed at
servicing the telecommunications and television industry.
EU court rules on Cartoon TV
A ruling this week from the European Court of Justice
would disallow European Union countries from blocking
television broadcasts transmitted from other member states,
even if they do not meet European-based programming rules.
This ruling stems from the case of the Coditel cable
network, for violating Belgian legislation by broadcasting
the Turner Network Television Cartoon Network from London
over its network. Under the "television without frontiers''
law, EU television channels are required to devote over half
their screen time to European programs ``where
practicable.''
But it is the EU country where the programmer is
legally established that decides whether it was practicable
to meet the quota, not the country that receives the
broadcast, the court said.
HBO launches two subscription TV channels
HBO Brasil, a distributor for subscription TV, is
launching in Brazil the Mundo and Entertainment Television
channels, which have no local competitor.
The channels are to be initially offered via Direct
TV, the satellite television from Abril group, that has
70,000 subscribers, and later on to other cable televisions.
HBO Brasil, an association of Time Warner, Sony Pictures,
Ole Communication, and TVA, has four channels in the
domestic market
Upcoming Launches
Next Atlas/Delta Launch Next Ariane Launch
Superbird C -- July 8, 1997 INSAT 2D/INMARSAT 3F4 --June
3, 1997
In Brief
" Galaxy Latin America's DIRECTV service is now available
in Guatemala offering up to 152 video and 33 audio channels
including Disney Weekend, HBO 0le, Cinemax and CineCanal.
" Conexion Financiera has signed an agreement with CNBC,
NBC's wholly owned 24-hour cable network, to license
programming and lease production facilities.
" ExpressVu Inc. has signed retail agreements with
Aventure Electronique, The Bay, Bell Mobility, Kmart, London
Drugs, Real Canadian Superstores and True Value Hardware
Stores, seven of Canada's leading retailers, to sell the
ExpressVu DTH system when it launches this summer. ExpressVu
uses the EchoStar set-top box.
" Wegener Corporation has received an order to
manufacture fully addressable MPEG-2 digital video receivers
for FOX Sports Net and FX Networks. These receivers will
be utilised by FOX cable services including FOX Sports Net,
FX, and fXM: Movies From FOX.
" Harris Corp. will provide analogue and digital
television (DTV) transmitter equipment for the 16 television
stations owned and operated by A.H. Belo Corporation.
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(c) Sat-na 1997
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