Space for more channels?

[Bob Haller]

Just how much other capacity is available if the new international effor with HD goes well? I havent followed this area closely.

I assume the sats will be very high powered to overcome the rain fade issues. Anyone have more tech knowledge about this?

[JohnH]

Well Bob, I have seen no indication that Ka will be used for anything beside Broadband. When you think about it, Broadband will require all of the Ka bandwidth if it is a successfull service.

That leaves the Ku-FSS band for video services, E* 9 is reported to have 32 Tps in this band. That would make it like adding another DBS slot which would be capable of approximately 320 SD channels, 96 HD channels or some combination of those. Of course, these numbers could change depending on whether they use 8PSK modulation or not. 8PSK modulation is being used(apparently successfully) by Telesat on Anik F1 in this band.

Very high powered transponders are not likely as there are other sats in the same band only 2 degrees away on both sides which have to be protected. High powered Tps are likely, though.

Depending on the cost of the new DISH 500 with 121 dish, new smaller market locals might be an option as well as the new International channels. New HD channels are also a possibility, assuming the 6000 can be upgraded to a 5-sat configuration and appropriate sat switching is available for such a configuration.

The Philadelphia "extra" locals could be moved to 121 from 129 with only a dish repoint or possibly a dish replacement if 121 is too close to 119 for the Starband dish adjustments.

Ka band may be experimanted with for some Video services. But Broadband would be the primary use of this spectrum, assuming it is successful.

The capacity they have contracted on AMC 15(105.0 deg w) is thought to be primarily 12 spotbeams(including Hawaii and Alaska) of Ka band. Although, the release on this matter says they will use interum capacity on other SES sats would lead one to think they may be considering locals uplink backhauls for some markets where fiber cost may be prohibitive or just not available.


All of this could change if the race intensifies.

All of this is IMHO of course. :)

[Jacob S]

If Dish, Direct, and any future companies would just outsource to a different company to do all of the locals from one orbital slot, then this would solve a lot of problems, such as satellite uplink costs, upkeep, cost of satellites, and space for Dish and Direct in their orbital slots. The same could be done with HD channels because of the huge bandwidth required with these channels. Is something similar to this what is trying to be done at the 105.5 slot by that company? The bad thing about this is that one would have to get a second dish or one dish that is larger. Maybe this could be done only on the smaller DMA markets.

[Mike D-CO5]

I agree with the outsourcing of the locals to an outside company . That way you get the best of what would have been the merged company with out actually merging the 2 providers. I just wonder if the new satellite dish that Dish is proposing for the one dish solution to get the new international channels will also be used for the 110, and 119 positions also. If so , then they may satisfy the FCC request and do away with all those switches we have to use to get the side satellite positions for locals ,HD etc.

[Jacob S]

There would still have to be more switches used to get the 121 slot in vs. just 110 and 119.

Would it go against anti-trust laws for them to come together to provide locals from one satellite that is in the smaller markets? I doubt that would happen though but look at all this satellite space wasted because of the same thing being shown on one satellite and another. If that space could be shared then look at all the channel additions we would have. Perhaps when a new satellite standard comes along they will both use the same one allowing sharing of satellites.

[Mike D-CO5]

If Charlie would get over his extreme hatred of Directv and try to do what is in the best interest of ALL sat customers, he might see that both Dish and Direct would be a viable competitior to Cable for once and for all. But if Murdock gets his hands on Directv I think you can kiss this idea Goodbye! But it should be interesting to see what competition will bring between these two since they have a love/ hate past relationship both in business and personaly.

[lastmanstanding]

Did anyone catch the articles last week about Verizon running optical fiber to 100% of its customers, with the intent of pumping the throughput to >100 Megs/sec?

If they do it, Dish, Direct, and cable are in bigggg trouble. Cable could eventually respond in kind, but DBS will become a curiosity unless MPEG-8+ compression comes along, soon.

[Jacob S]

I hope Verizon does, I want high speed internet service. I talked to a service technician for Verizon and he said in the near future in probably a couple three years ago there would be local tv and an offering of channels, high speed internet, and phone service all available over the fiber optic line.

Competition is good and if drives prices down, then that is even better. Satellite should be a bit cheaper than wired programming, a little cheaper than it is now, even from dbs. Perhaps when that does happen it will cause DirecTv and Dish to use the same satellites and receivers and technology to compete against cable and phone companies yet still compete against each other, a compromise. I think there is some type of laws where they can only do so much or cannot do certain things isnt there where they may not be allowed to get together to do certain things?

[Chris Freeland]

The only way that Verizen would be able to become a major multi-channel tv service provider to compete with cable and satellite on a Nationwide basis is to lay fiber to every home in America, get real, it ain't going to happen in any of are lifetimes.

[Jacob S]

But in the areas where it is offered there will be a lot of competition. If Verizon does this for their customers other providers may follow.