Sat-ND, 30.9.1997 – What's my line?
Until further notice, Sat-ND will be issued sporadically rather than daily. (Actually it looks as though this will be the last issue for this week.)
Today's Headlines
With the "successful blast-off of the PSLV-C1," India joined "the exclusive club of nations capable of launching the heavier class of satellites," 'The Hindu' said; and a commercial company immediately started offering imagery to be taken be the IRS-1D satellite which had been launched. It was all a bit premature.
It was a historical moment, of course, when an Indian-made rocket put an Indian-made 1,200-kg satellite into orbit – but it wasn't what one would call a textbook launch as the satellite actually did not reach its proper orbit.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said the fourth stage of the 468-tonne PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) had "underperformed," resulting in a "shortfall in the velocity of injection of about 130 metres per second." IRS-1D was in an orbit of about 820 km at its apogee and about 300 km at its perigee. However, the satellite should have ended up in a circular 817-km orbit.
"Towards attaining the final orbit, orbit manoeuvre exercises have been started by firing the thrusters on board the satellite for five minutes during the 17th orbit," the statement said. "In the coming days, further orbital manoeuvres will be conducted in a phased manner." In other words, the satellite can still be put into the planned orbit by using fuel, which on they other hand may shorten its operational life.
Earlier, ISRO said that there were already commercial customers for launch services. South Korea has signed up for space on an Indian launcher late next year to have a 110-kg "research satellite" lifted.
Insat-1D will, and that's the official version, assess crop yields, estimate damages caused by floods or droughts, and provide images of mineral deposits, marine resources and underground water. What officials usually do not mention: it will offer high-resolution imagery for anybody who's willing to pay for it.
Nothing new as IRS-1D is identical to IRS-1C, which was launched back in December 1995. "The dual use of these satellites enables Space Imaging EOSAT, the exclusive provider of IRS imagery to global markets, to offer 5.8-meter resolution images to its customers twice as often as is currently possible with just the IRS-1C. The imagery is useful for applications as diverse as natural resource planning, agricultural monitoring, urban and transportation development, natural disaster assessment, media use and much more."
That's at least what Space Imaging EOSAT said in a press release immediately after the IRS-1D launch. The company claims to be "the world's largest single supplier of space imagery, aerial photography, mapping services, and derivative geographic information products and services. The company supplies these products and services to commercial, government and consumer users worldwide. Space Imaging EOSAT also collects and distributes imagery derived from the Indian IRS satellites, the U.S. Landsat satellites, the Canadian Space Agency's Radarsat, Japan's JERS, and the European Space Agency's ERS satellites. [...] The company will launch the world's first commercial one-meter resolution satellite, Ikonos 1, in December."
PanAmSat Corporation requested authorisation from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to launch a 12-satellite global network that will provide digital transmissions services in – you guessed it! – the V-band. The system, called V-Stream, is expected to provide high-power, flexible broadcast and telecommunications services after the year 2000.
Well, the mention of "high-power" is no surprise at all as the system will consist of 12 geostationary satellites using 3GHz of bandwidth in the 50/40GHz band of frequencies. That simply means that a lot of power is needed to get through the atmosphere, which has the nasty habit of attenuating signals at such high frequencies.
PanAmSat said that key components of the system will include inter-satellite links, on-board processing and high-powered spot beams. Through the use of these technologies, the V-Stream system is expected to be capable of efficiently providing a full range of digital satellite services on a global basis. PanAmSat has requested FCC authorization to operate the global V-band network in 11 orbital slots, ranging from 99 degrees West Longitude for service over North America to 124.5 degrees East Longitude for service over the Asia-Pacific region.
Mobile Communications Holdings has applied to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a license to launch a second global satellite system that will enable it to meet the very large demand it sees for its low-cost and reliable worldwide satellite-based communications services.
For a change, this is not about ever higher frequencies, on the contrary. MCHI plans to construct, launch and operate a second constellation of 26 non-geostationary satellites, known as Ellipso 2G, to expand its Mobile Satellite Services offerings in the recently opened 2-GHz band. MCHI expects that Ellipso 2G will have two to three times the capacity of the initial Ellipso system.
Digital communications to be offered by Ellipso 2G include mobile and fixed voice services, faxing, paging, voice mail, messaging and geographical position determination and data transfer at speeds of up to 64 kilobits per second – not too much, this is what European ISDN offers on one channel.
MCHI is currently building the 17-satellite Ellipso network, a licensed Big LEO satellite system, which will provide low-cost telephony using a constellation of satellites in inclined and equatorial elliptical orbits. The company said it was progressing toward an expected launch date in 2000 with initial service later that year.
For Ellipso 2G, MCHI plans to launch and operate 26 non-geostationary spacecraft arrayed in five orbital planes in two sub-constellations. Three planes of five satellites each will be placed in inclined elliptical orbits for Northern Hemisphere coverage. A fourth plane of six satellites will be launched into circular equatorial orbits and another five satellites in elliptical equatorial orbit for additional daytime [!] coverage for equatorial and Southern Hemisphere coverage. Subject to FCC approval, Ellipso 2G could be operational as early as 2003.
Ellipso and Ellipso 2G will be integrated into a single system to serve an expanding customer base during the first half of the next decade. Future mobile terminals will be equipped to operate interchangeably with both satellite systems.
Digital technology makes it possible – more channels, less content. English football [soccer] champions Manchester United Manchester United unveiled a joint venture with BSkyB and Granada which will see their own prime-time subscription television channel launched next year.
Dubbed MUTV, it is slated to hit TV screens from autumn 1998 via satellite and cable. But it won't offer any important matches, instead broadcast "news and features" on Manchester United, friendlies, classic matches from the past, reserve team games and interviews with players – six hours per day. And those who want to watch it will, of course, have to pay for it. Chief executive Martin Edwards said that although the club was not disclosing the cost or final details of the TV channel, it hoped the venture would break even within two to three years.
The club's supporter base is estimated at more than 3 million people. Edwards: "We believe that the channel will be viable and provide attractive return if we can attract roughly 10 percent of that fan base." It is completely untrue that the commercial manager of Bayern München [Munich], Ulli "Greedy" Hoeneß, has already arrived in Manchester to see if he can copy this model. He should do so, however – a Bayern München channel would certainly be a further step towards convincing the German public that digital TV is really not what they want. [By the way: another football club, Hamburger Sportverein (HSV,) has a daily ten-minute-show on a local terrestrial channel in Hamburg. Analogue and completely free.]
Allan Fels, chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, said the anti-trust body aims to reach a decision on a proposed merger between pay television companies Foxtel and Australis Media Ltd. by early November.
Foxtel, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. and Telstra Corp., and Australis proposed to merge late in 1995, but the ACC rejected the plan. The two companies again proposed a merger last July. It can be terminated by the companies if it isn't approved and completed by November 15.
Fels said the deregulation of satellite transmission has altered the competitive situation since 1995. Another difference between 1995 and now is that Optus Vision, another pay TV concern, has started operations. "The question is whether the shift is sufficient to lead us to a different attitude and on that we haven't decided," he said.
Cable & Wireless Plc bought an additional 5.75 percent of the shares in Asia Satellite Telecommunications Holdings Ltd (AsiaSat) from Hutchison Whampoa Ltd for 36.7 million pounds.
C&W, Britain's second biggest telecoms group, said that the purchase raises its stake in Hong Kong listed satellite operator AsiaSat to 28.73 percent. Hutchinson is now left with a 11.49 percent holding in AsiaSat.
Next Saturday will see the launch of the first commercial terrestrial network in Hungary, to be followed by another one three days later.
TV2, run by a Scandinavian-German-Hungarian consortium, will be launched on October 4. RTL Klub, a channel set up by a Hungarian subsidiary of CLT/Ufa (Luxembourg/Germany), will follow on October 7.
Both channels will use terrestrial frequencies formerly used by the state broadcaster MTV [no, not Music Television] and, ages ago, by the Soviet forces in Hungary. [They've left in the meantime, I guess.] MTV 2 has had to give up its terrestrial network and will be available on cable and satellite only.
TV2 and RTL Klub had been granted terrestrial licenses even though a third competitor, CME, placed the highest bid. (Cf. Sat-ND, 14.7.1997: "Central European Media Enterprises, set up by U.S. cosmetics heir Ronald Lauder, has been building a media empire in Central and Eastern Europe. It operates national stations in the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine in conjunction with local partners. The most successful station is the Czech TV Nova. CME reportedly is also eyeing the Baltics, the Balkans and the former Soviet Union.")
I usually don't repeat complete articles. But as the end of September is near (35 minutes to go as I write this,) this item in Sat-ND, 5.9.1997 becomes important again. I have to admit that I did not check what's going on on European satellites recently but I somewhat doubt that the service announced by XM has appeared anywhere. So, here's the repeat.
Shortly after pay-radio DMX Europe broke down last July, its founder Jerry Rubinstein issued a press release saying that a new company by the name of Xtra Music (XM) had "acquired the rights to the programming of DMX Inc. for several territories" and "will be offering the service in 2 to 6 weeks."
Former DMX Europe customers are still waiting, now that the six weeks are more than over. However, Mr Rubinstein said meanwhile that the service should be re-established by the end of September, offering initially 40 channels on the Astra satellite system. He did not give any reasons for the delay, nor did he elaborate on details of the demise of DMX Europe. He also said he was owning 90 percent of XM while financing the venture own his own. (The remaining 10 percent, according to Rubinstein, are held by DMX Inc. of the U.S.)
The service, he said, will be launched in Germany first because DMX Europe had most subscribers there. By the end of the year, Rubinstein hopes to have doubled the number of channels, offering a Europe-wide service.
Now I won't say this guy isn't really trying hard to get the service up and running again. I hope he succeeds because, in effect, he owes me some money – I happened to be a subscriber to DMX Europe, and anyway: I share Rubinstein's belief that this is a truly great service, although only for a minority. However, his July statement turned out to be simply false, so why believe his new promises?
Filip Bomberna wrote in to announce the new RadioVisie internet Site. It offers an E-zine (only in Dutch) and a radio [or should I say Anorak] section, both in Dutch and English. One of the features is a comprehensive selection of jingles.
http://radiovisie.simplenet.com/
The television industry is underestimating the threat to its programme making from information technology (IT), a executive of Mr Murdoch's News Corp Ltd told an information technology conference in Hungary.
"The media industry scoffs at the IT industry but I wonder how long it can," president of the News Technology Group of NES Corp Ltd Greg Clark told a conference of IT chiefs [obviously in an effort to say something nice as News Corp itself is not exactly what one would call an IT company.]
Clark said that the Internet and new digital technology was about to revolutionise the entertainment industry with PCTV allowing the customer to choose content and integrate television with text services and computer games. [Yawn! Let me sleep and dream of sheep {Kate Bush}.]
"Television was traditionally a 'push' industry with the central producer deciding what the viewer sees," said Clark. "With new digital and satellite technology the customer will soon be able to choose from 300 stations – it's now 'push and pull'." [What a grotesque misunderstanding of what the majority wants! Even in the next millennium, interactivity of the masses will not exceed the flick of a thumb on a remote control.]
Online game maker Kesmai Corp., a unit of Rupert Murdoch's media giant News Corp., has filed a law suit against America Online Inc. charging anti-competitive business practices. One aim of the lawsuit is to block AOL's planned acquisition of CompuServe's more than 2 million subscribers.
The company's problem is that it has provided its games to AOL and CompuServe in the past. Although both services are not expected to become one after the takeover , Kesmai has in recent months lost a considerable amount of business to AOL's game service WorldPlay.
The company alleges AOL of employing a monopolistic strategy by reserving all game promotion space on the online service for its own pay-for-play games.
You're as mad as hell and you won't take it anymore! That's what the latest and silliest ever Sat-ND competition is all about. Tell me about the satellite(s) you hate most and win a free subscription to this so-called newsletter! (I daren't charge anybody for this crap anyway, though ;-)
F1 should be zapped and a new bird should be put up in a location between G5 and F3 to replace it. In the Northeast of North America, some of us can't get a good look at it because it is so close to the horizon. Denver 5 should be moved to a more central location, how about G9? they have plenty of transponders open. You go to Netlink to get good programming deals and you can't even watch 5 of the channels they are selling to you. Its time to kill F1 and put up a new bird. Wasn't F3 put in F1 old position when the replaced it with the new F3.
Tony Blastow
Great ! You asked the question I have been waiting to answer for millenniums...
Of course I would love to see a major collision in the Astra System on 19.2 East, so two, three sats at least, and then, to be more specific, between the 1b, 1c and 1d. The Astra 1a is running in old socks anyway. Any chance you could arrange that?
Reasons: Plenty... 1st: Big drama in Luxembourg, 2nd: the shock in millions of households, 3rd: a boost in terrestrial TV, 4th: plenty of free channels for a long time to come on Eutelsat (which I can receive). It would be certainly the downfall of TV as we know it. Good enough?
Henk C. Room / Sat-MidEast / Cairo – Egypt
Well, it's got to be HotBird 2 – one moment you think you know which channels are transmitting here, the next thing, all of Telepiu has vanished and Fashion TV decides to make an entrance! Too shaky...
Dominic Sedghi, Sat-UK
Copyright
09.97 by Peter C. Klanowski, pck@LyNet.De.
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