Apparently-to: scdx@get.pp.se
From: "George Wood" 
Thai TV5 Global Network has begun digital transmissions on Hot Bird 1
on 11.248 GHz, in clear MPEG-2, SR 5632 FEC 3/4. (Richard Karlsson in
"Aftonbladet" and "SATCO DX")
Romania's Pro TV is on Hot Bird 3 on 12.206 GHz in uncoded MPEG-2, SR
5632 FEC 7/8. (Richard Karlsson in "Aftonbladet")
The Spanish channels TVE Internacional, Canal 24 Horas, and Onyx have
begun on Hot Bird 3 on 12.111 GHz in clear MPEG-2. ("SATCO DX")
The Iranian IRIB's Jaam-e-Jam TV Network has started tests on Hot Bird
3 on 12.437 GHz, in uncoded PAL. (Richard Karlsson in "Aftonbladet")
SLOVAKIA--Norway's Telenor (operator of Thor 1 and 2) is opening a new
digital satellite uplink station in Bratislava, Slovakia. The new
station will receive the signals from seven TV channels and will put
the multiplexed signal through to Telenor's satellites at 1 degree
West. The channels that are already being distributed via the new
station are BBC Prime, TV1 Estland, STV and VTV (both Slovakian). A
Czech channel and Shopping TV will also be uplinked soon. (Curt
Swinehart)
VTV has switched from PAL to clear MPEG-2 on Intelsat 707 on 11.540
GHz. BBC Prime has been added to the package on that transponder.
("SATCO DX") 
INTELSAT--Romania's Prime TV has started on Intelsat 705 (18 degrees
West) on 10.978 GHz, in clear MPEG-2. ("SATCO DX")
Intelsat 803 has replaced Intelsat 515 at 21.3 degrees West. ("SATCO
DX")
GERMANY--The German cartel office says it opposes the digital TV
alliance betwen Bertelsmann and the Kirch Group, dealing a further
blow to the struggling venture. The cartel authority said on January 9
that the proposed link-up would dominate the market, and should be
blocked. While the cartel office's opinion doesn't kill the deal, it
could become decisive if the European Commission refers the case to
Berlin. The commission has until January 21 to decide whether to rule
on the plan or pass it on to the German cartel office. ("Wall Street
Journal")
Following the ruling, it's been reported that Bertelsmann is having
second thoughts about the venture, arguing that it might back out if
its Belgian business partner Albert Frere doesn't support the project.
("Wall Street Journal")
EASTERN EUROPE--Alfa TV, an international satellite channel set up by
25 countries in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, is due to
start tests from Budapest in March, 1998, although regular broadcasts
are not expected until 1999. The channel, which is being financed
initially by the European Union and private sponsors, hopes to
eventually become self-financing. It plans to offer simultaneous
broadcasts in eight languages. Alfa is intended to be a public TV
channel, emphasizing European cultural and intellectual values. (Curt
Swinehart)
SPAIN/LATIN AMERICA--The shareholders of Via Digital have approved the
sale of a stake in their company to Galaxy Latin America, provider of
the DirecTV service to Latin America and the Caribbean. The 6.9
percent share could be increased to 17 percent. The agreement allows
the exchange of new Spanish channels in Latin America and Spain. (Curt
Swinehart)
AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST
FRANCE--Canal France International says it is suing France Telecom
over a technical mistake that led to the broadcast of a pornographic
film around the Arab world instead of a children's program. Following
the switching error at France Telecom, the Arab satellite operator
Arabsat banned CFI, despite apologies from the channel and the French
government. The ban dealt a blow to France's efforts to reach
audiences in the Arab world. (Reuters)
France's state-owned TV5 will start trial transmissions to the Arab
world in French and Arabic using Arabsat from January 25. This follows
an agreement in October for Arabsat to lease transmission time to TV5.
(Reuters)
INTELSAT--Changes in Murdoch channels: Fox Sports World has replaced
Star Sports on Intelsat 703 (57 degrees East) in the Orbit Nework
package. ("SATCO DX")
CFI Afrique has started on Intelsat 605 on 3.935 GHz in clear MPEG-2,
SR 8448 FEC 1/2. ("SATCO DX")
TV5 Afrique has started on Intelsat 803 (21.5 degrees West) on 4.082
GHz in clear PAL. BFBS TV has started on 4.082 GHz in encoded MPEG-2
(SR 6398 FEC 1/2), along with these radio stations (in the clear):
BFBS World 1/2/3, BFBS Falklands, BFBS Belize, and BFBS Cyprus.
("SATCO DX")
Nigeria's NTA has started on Intelsat 605 (27.5 degrees West) on 4.093
GHz, in clear PAL. ("SATCO DX")
PORTUGAL--On January 7 the Portuguese state broadcaster RTP launched a
new service to Portugal's former African colonies, RTP Africa. The 24
hour channel will feature public service programming from RTP,
including news and sports, and special programs about Africa. It can
be found at 3.836 GHz on Express 2 at 14 degrees West, in clear
MPEG-2. RTP already beams RTP International by satellite to North
America, Europe, and Asia. (Reuters and "SATCO DX")
IRAN--At the end of December, Iranian Revolutionary Guards seized 200
satellite dishes and related equipment in Tehran, as part of a
campaign to check Western cultural inroads. The Islamic republic
banned satellite equipment three years ago, to keep people from
watching "depraved and anti-Islamic" foreign television programs.
(AFP)
LIBERIA--The Liberian government has closed down Radio Monrovia, which
relays the Voice of America, in a dispute over frequencies. This is
the second Liberian FM station closed by the government in the
dispute. The first was Star Radio, funded by the US government as a
neutral voice for Liberia's political groups. Star Radio was
established in the run- up to Liberia's July elections, and broadcast
in 14 local languages, English and French, on FM and shortwave. Radio
Monrovia was cited for allegedly reassigning two of its frequencies to
Star Radio. President Charles Taylor closed down his own Kiss FM
station on January 5, saying it was inefficient. It came back on the
air shortly afterwards, without any explanation. Human rights groups,
diplomats, and the church have condemned an appparent crackdown on the
media in general. (Reuters)
SOUTH AFRICA--Time Warner will invest 20 million dollars in South
Africa's new terrestrial TV network, if its local partner Midi
Television is granted the licence. Six other ventures are bidding for
a licence, including Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. (Curt Swinehart)
ASIA/PACIFIC
JAPAN--Rupert Murdoch's JSkyB and rival digital satellite broadcaster
PerfecTV have reached a tentative agreement to merge in February. This
follows the launch of Japan's third digital DBS broadcaster, Hughes'
DirecTV, in December. (Curt Swinehart)
CHINA--On December 25, Beijing's BTV 1 started on Asiasat-2 on 12.329
GHz in clear MPEG-2. BTV, which is hoping to reach Chinese outside
China, is including a 30 minute program in seven languages. ("SATCO
DX" and "China Daily")
The Hong Kong-based APT Satellite Holdings is planning to set up a DBS
system to China, pending approval from the authorities. The service,
which would also be aimed at Macau and Taiwan, hopes to have the go-
ahead by March. APT operates the Apstar satellites. (AFP and Curt
Swinehart)
Meanwhile, the American Congress has more than doubled the funding for
Radio Free Asia to expand its broadcasts to China and Tibet. The new
budget is for more than 24 million dollars, compared to 9 million the
previous year. From transmitters in the Pacific, RFA broadcasts to
China, Burma, Vietnam, Laos, North Korea, and Cambodia. With the new
funding, Mandarin broadcasts will increase from 5 to 12 hours a day,
and Tibetan from 2 to 4 hours, along with new programming in Cantonese
and Uighur. (AFP)
INTELSAT--On December 21 the European Ariane rocket successfuly
orbited Intelsat 804 from French Guiana. The new satellite will be
located at 64 degrees East and will provide voice, data, and video
services to the Indian Ocean region. It carries 38 C-band and 6
Ku-band transponders. Intelsat 801, which has been at 64 degrees East,
is now moving to 31.5 degrees West. (Richard Karlsson in
"Aftonbladet") 
Thai TV5 Global Nework has started on Intelsat 702 (177 degrees East)
on 12.612 GHz, in clear MPEG-2. ("SATCO DX")
ASIASAT--AsiaSat 3 went into a useless orbit, following a booster
failure with a Russian Proton rocket on Christmas Day. The
Hughes-built satellite was to have joined  AsiaSat 1 and 2 in beaming
broadcasts to Asia, the Middle East, and parts of the former Soviet
Union.
CNBC/ABN--While CNBC and Asia Business News should have merged, there
seem to be no indications that this has happened, at least on the ABN
Web pages, at www.abn.com.sg
The Satco Chart continues to list CNBC on Asiasat-2 (3.700 and 3.785
GHz, both MPEG-2), Palapa C2 (3.620 GHz in PAL and 11.645 GHz in MPEG-
2), and PAS-2 (4.093 GHz in MPEG-2). ABN is still listed separately on
Palapa C2 (4.040 GHz in PAL) and PAS-2 (4.148 GHz in MPEG-2). ("SATCO
DX")
NORTH AMERICA
ECHOSTAR--Echostar is planning to launch local channels to satellite
subscribers, starting in six local markets. The company has uplinked
the ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox affliliates from New York, Boston,
Washington DC, Chicago, Atlanta, and Dallas to its new Echostar 3, and
has started selling the second dish needed to receive those local
channels. Echostar 3, which is at 61.5 degrees West, also carries a
variety of religious broadcasters, as well as some business and
foreign language channels. Starting in March, EchoStar will offer new
data services through a special computer card. ("SATCO DX" and Curt
Swinehart)
LAUNCHES
DELAYS--Sinosat 1 will launch with Long March in February, Gorizont 33
will launch with Proton in March, Chinastar 1 will launch with Long
March in March, Echostar 4 will launch with Proton in April. ("SATCO
DX")
The following launches are scheduled with Atlas: Intelsat 806 on March
3, Eutelsat W1 on May 12, Intelsat 805 on June 12, JCSAT 6 on July 20,
and MCI 1 (formerly Sky 2) on August 21. ("SATCO DX")
BEFORE WE GO
Finally, congratulations are in order to space visionary Arthur C.
Clarke, who shortly after his 80th birthday was knighted by Tony
Blair's British government, in its first New Years honors list since
taking office in May.
In 1945 Sir Arthur proposed the wild and crazy idea that artificial
satellites at just the right distance from the Earth would orbit at
the same speed as the planet's rotation, making communications relays
possible.
Congratulations as well to Christian Lyngemark of Helsingborg, Sweden,
and his Satco DX website, which has just celebrated its second
anniversary. Satco DX is an incredible encyclopedia of satellite
broadcast news, which on its second birthday listed 160 satellites,
4504 TV channels, 1992 radio stations, with links to 4168 other
satellite-related webpages. During 1997 there were more than half a
million visitors to www.satcodx.com 
Thanks to this week's contributors
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