The Channel | 2006 | July

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Global briefing
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TV,MPEG-4 IPTVaswell asHDTV•TelekomMontenegrore-branded ‘T’•Sweden’sTV4becomesEuronews’21st shareholder
•Nokia and Siemensmerge units to formNokia Siemens Networks • RFI equips all 18 on-air studios in Paris with AIR-DDO
playout software • Over 100 countries across Europe, Africa and the Middle East sign digital TVpact • Eutelsat agrees Arena
Bundesligadeal•PTSTaiwanreceivesUS$137mfromthe legislaturefordigitalTVplatform •India’splanto launch international
news channel in “infancy stage”•GlobeCast delivers HDTVworld cup coverage for SkyItalia • NorCom first to offer an all-in
The flexible road to success in Mobile TV
At Broadcast Asia 2006, RadioScape’s VP of Technology, Dr
Les Sabel, presented a paper on the company’s “flexible
platform for multi-standard multimedia solutions in the mobile
world”. RadioScape is a key technology provider for Mobile TV
trials that are taking place around the world: the DAB-IP trials
in the UK in 2005-2006; the current joint trial by RTÉ and
RadioScape in Dublin; the Centre of Excellence for Digital
Broadcasting (CoEfDB) trial in the Netherlands; the DMB/DAB-
IP Mobile TV trial in the UK that was announced in June 2006;
and trials in China with over nine installations in operation,
some of which are now broadcasting commercially. According
to Sabel, RadioScape is unique in that it is the only company
that provides both broadcast and receiver technologies giving
integrated, end-to-end solutions that ensure robustness and
reliability. The secret to the company’s success is being able to
provide flexible solutions which can be easily adapted to
incorporate a variety of standards in the rapidly evolving world
of Mobile TV. It does this through the use of software to define
the functionality, in other words: Software Defined Digital
Radio. Underpinning this is a framework called RadiOS that
enables modular software functionality to be loaded only when
needed, allowing a wide variety of applications to be
incorporated into high-end, feature-rich products. The paper
covered the rapidly evolving Mobile TV environment with
numerous closely related but different standards, and the
relative merits of ASIC versus a software-defined solution based
on RadiOS in addressing this market. A copy of the paper is
available from the RadioScape website at
ASTRA’s new 1KR operational
SES ASTRA’s new satellite ASTRA 1KR has been deployed
at the company’s prime orbital 19.2° East and is now
operational. The satellite was successfully launched from
Cape Canaveral on 20 April onboard an Atlas V rocket and
has now completed extensive testings of its
hardware and broadcasting functionalities.
ASTRA 1KR has 32 active transponders and
provides distribution of DTH broadcast services
for SES ASTRA customers across Europe, with
an extended reach into Eastern Europe. The
new satellite allows SES ASTRA to replace its
satellites ASTRA 1B and ASTRA 1C at the same
orbital position. ASTRA 1B has reached the
end of its life after 15 years of service. “We are
very pleased that our ASTRA 1KR mission has been completed
and that we can welcome a new member in the ASTRA
satellite fleet”, says Ferdinand Kayser, President and CEO of
SES ASTRA. “ASTRA 1KR will further strengthen the ASTRA
fleet and allow us to maintain the best possible service and
quality for our customers across Europe.”
Mission possible
When Czech Foreign Minister
Cyril Svoboda presented a
cheque for nearly US$1.2m to the
BroadcastingBoardof
Governors and Radio
Free Europe/Radio
Liberty, as contribu-
tion to the relocating
of the RFE/RL broad-
cast centre outside
the city centre of
Prague, he said: “It is
our moral and politi-
cal duty to support
Radio Free Europe”
which “has played an irreplace-
able role in the life of my country,
by transmitting the values of de-
mocracy, human rights and good
governance.” The foreign minis-
ter noted in his remarks that host-
ing RFE/RL is one way the Czech
Republic is supporting the war
against terrorism, and promoting
democracy and democratic val-
ues in the world. RFE/RL’s reloca-
tion will improve security of the
station and its surroundings.
Construction of the new building
will begin later this year.
Pioneering DRM
With the launch of its dual-channel Digital Radio
Mondiale transmission service from Crystal Palace into
Greater London, VT Communications is pushing the
boundaries of digital radio broadcasting. Partnering with
Deutsche Welle and UBC Classic Gold, VT
Communications can now provide two discrete broadcast
services over a single 20 kHz transmission band centred at
25.7 MHz. This is the first time the double channel mode of
DRM has been used for extensive field trials and further
enhances VT Communications’ digital offering. The 26
MHz band is designated as an international broadcast
band, but is underused and could also be used to provide
local “FM” type coverage. Demand for both FM (88-108
MHz) and DAB (band III) spectrum in the UK is very high,
and DRM could offer broadcasters access to additional
spectrum revitalising existing MF and LF frequencies with
enhanced audio quality. The ability of the 26 MHz band to
provide local and digital radio coverage adds to VT
Communications existing regional and international DRM
capability. In 1999 VT Communications started regular “ITU
compliant” DRM tests from the Rampisham transmitter
site in Dorset UK, to Europe. In 2003 a new high power MF
transmitter was added to the portfolio, which now
transmits the BBC World Service in digital quality to the
Benelux countries. In March 2006, VT Communications
announced a significant
investment in a new high
power HF transmitter at its
Woofferton (Shropshire, UK)
transmitter site. This will be
operational by mid 2006. VT
Communications are also
investing in a new
broadcast centre designed
to distribute audio in a
totally digital format from
studio to listener, including distribution of DRM.
Dangerous talk
A human rights group in China
has reported that a Chinese
environmental activist was
brutally beaten up after giving
an interview to German public
broadcasterARD. FuXiancai, a
farmer and environmental
activist gave
an interview to
German
television in
May about
construction
work on the
Three Gorges
Dam, in which he commented
on Beijing’s failure to
compensate 1.3m people forced
to relocate after the project
began in 1997. Three weeks later,
he was visited by police and
questioned about his statements
to German television. On his way
home, he was attacked by
unknown assailants. Since then,
he has been under 24-hour
police observation in hospital
and is believed to be paralysed
from the neck down. Last year, Fu
was beaten up after talking to a
US newspaper.