Dateline Asia
ALONG THE ASIA/PACIFIC
SATELLITE SUPER HIGHWAY
By Mark Long
Originally appeared in the June, 1996 issue of Tele-satellit.
©1996 MLE INC. All Rights Reserved.
AsiaSat 2: 'Good on You!'
On January 24, 1996, the exhibition hall at the South Pacific Cable & Satellite 96 (SPCS 96) conference held at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, was buzzing with excitement as a clear PAL feed of STAR TV's Mandarin Channel came booming in from the new AsiaSat 2 satellite. As the New Zealanders like to say, 'Good on you, AsiaSat!'
In a part of the Asia/Pacific that is untouched by either of AsiaSat 1's two highly focused coverage beams, the new AsiaSat 2 signal was a welcome sight to local satellite retailers who heretofore could market a mere handful of C band satellite TV channels from PAS 2, the antiquated Intelsat 508 satellite and a couple of inclined orbit Russian spacecraft. With the flip of a switch, AsiaSat 2 promised to change all that.
In the weeks following the close of SPCS 96, satellite professionals 'down under' received some additional good news. RTP (Portugal) and CCTV (China) both began transmitting their respective international services via AsiaSat 2 in clear PAL. With three full time PAL TV services already on the new satellite and the announcement of four additional European TV services soon to come, AsiaSat 2 is set to become THE C band bird to watch in New Zealand and Australia.
A Whiff of the European Bouquet
During his presentation at SCPS 96, Johannes J. Firsbach, Deutsche Welle's Head of Program Distribution, outlined his channel's plans for a digitally compressed 'bouquet' of five European TV channels and more than twenty European radio stations using a single AsiaSat 2 transponder (10B). The available European national public TV stations include RAI (Italy), TVE (Spain), TV5 (France) and MCM (Monte Carlo). What about magnate Rupert Murdoch's exclusive STAR TV distribution rights for AsiaSat 2? 'No worries, mate.' None of the European TV services will be advertiser supported channels. Best of all, the new digitally compressed European Bouquet will be delivered in an open key mode no subscription fees required.Solving the Digital Rubic's Cube
New Zealand's burgeoning satellite TV industry is no stranger to compressed digital video (CDV) technology. Many of the service providers on PAS 2 already digitally compress their program feeds AND authorize subscribers in New Zealand, either through local cable, SMATV and hotel systems, or in some cases, even individual home dish owners. The available CDV program fare from PAS 2 includes: Country Music Television (CMT), Asia Business News (ABN), Chinese Television Network (CTN), NBC Asia, and the Filipino Channel (ABS/CBN). CDV technology also is taking root in Australia, where the Ku band Optus B3 satellite currently transmits a multi channel DTH service which uses General Instrument's DigiCipher CDV system. The familiarity in both New Zealand and Australia with the digital realm will make for an easy transition for any new programmers moving into this market. The only hitch in this potential opportunity occurs in Australia, where satellite delivered pay TV services are restricted to the Optus satellite system, at least until July of 1997. There is, however, no limit on the satellite delivery of advertiser supported, free to air programming.When You Wish Upon A Star
What everyone would really like to know, however, is STAR TV's ultimate plans for AsiaSat 2, where some very expensive transponders were sitting idle as of the time of writing. It is in STAR TV's best interest to generate greater awareness concerning the capabilities of the region’s new 'Hot Bird.' Yet following the end of SPCS 96, STAR TV's sole AsiaSat 2 feed was encrypted, thereby terminating access in New Zealand and Australia. The current plea from down under: how about some standard PAL transmissions, at least until STAR fully sorts out its future CDV strategies, such as Murdoch's big deal with Chinese Central Television (CCTV)? My own suggestion for filling any excess AsiaSat capacity: an electronic program guide (EPG) in clear PAL that provides an hour by hour list of what's on the AsiaSat satellites, including both the non STAR and STAR TV services. The (EPG) would quickly become a popular add on channel for hotels and cable systems, allowing viewers to easily find out which programs will air each day.Another One Bites the Dust
On February 15, 1996, China's newest launch vehicle, the Long March 3B, veered off course immediately following take off and the rocket exploded twenty seconds after launch. The sound of the explosion was heard up to forty kilometers away from the launch site. Obliterated in the launch failure was the INTELSAT 708 satellite which had been destined to provide direct to home satellite TV services for Latin America.
One of the most disturbing aspects of this latest Chinese launch failure, the third in recent memory, was that several Chinese peasants were killed when the remains of the rocket crashed to earth. A dozen or more people also were injured. This is the second time that a Chinese launch failure has resulted in the death of unsuspecting civilians. The Xichang space center is located in a highly populated province. It has now become obvious to all that the Chinese government needs to undertake more stringent precautions to safeguard the welfare of local residents.
As was the case in January of 1995, when the Chinese Long March rocket carrying the doomed Apstar 2 satellite exploded, it will take several months of investigation before the underlying reasons for this latest failure can be uncovered. Further delays in the Chinese launch program undoubtedly will have serious consequences for APT Satellite Co. Ltd. of Hong Kong which has two additional satellites, Apstar 1A and Apstar 2R, scheduled for Long March launches in 1996. Moreover, the future of the entire Chinese launch program now hangs in the balance as both the satellite operators and the insurance underwriters reassess the enhanced risks of a Long March launch versus the cheaper launch prices tendered by the China Aerospace Corporation. Anyone for Chinese Roulette?
Hot or Hype?
In its pre-launch promotional materials, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) touted its new Insat 2C satellite as a new 'hot bird' for Asia that could effectively compete with other new satellites such as AsiaSat 2. Now that Insat 2C has been on station for nearly two months, we can answer the question: is it hot or is it hype? The truth is that of the eighteen C-band transponders carried by Insat 2C, only two can be connected to the medium powered 'expanded C band' coverage beam. During recent weeks, there have been only two occurrences where this regional beam has been used: once to carry a teleconference and the second time to carry a live feed of the 'Willis World Cup' sports event. Reception of these feeds in Southeast Asia is indeed hot (studio quality reception on a six-foot dish), but with just two transponders available for regional coverage, Insat 2C cannot hope to compete with twenty four transponder hot birds such as AsiaSat 2. A satellite has to create an attractive 'neighborhood' of TV program services before it can be considered a 'hot' bird. Two transponders does not a satellite neighborhood make, unless, that is, its a totally digital neighborhood.
[Author's note: Apstar 1A was successfully launched after the above article was published and is now operational at 134 degrees east longitude. ]
