11 September 2006
Using the enhanced power and stretched coverage of the new BADR-4 satellite, seamless high speed content & file exchange to/from any location within the whole Middle East / North Africa will now be easier and cheaper than ever.
Today at the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC), Arabsat (Arab Satellite Telecommunications Organization), the leading satellite operator in the Middle East and North Africa region, based in Saudi-Arabia, the ASBU (Arab States Broadcasting Union), based in Tunisia, and Newtec, based in Belgium, announced they have signed a major partnership for the progressive deployment of their MENOS project. The ASBU, which is currently operating a large international radio and television satellite exchange network on the Arabsat satellite fleet, has awarded a contract to Newtec for the supply and installation of a revolutionary broadband IP-based satellite network for the exchange of multimedia services to be operated on Arabsat’s soon-to-be launched new BADR-4 satellite.
The “Multimedia Exchange Network Over Satellite” system that will be proposed to ASBU members and Arabsat customers as a result of this partnership will definitely open amazingly exciting new horizons for satellite-based content exchange throughout the Arab world –and beyond, by providing our region with a truly ground-breaking project at the forefront of cutting-edge technologies. MENOS will be the largest and fastest ever feed and file exchange network for Broadcasters and Corporates, encompassing the entire Middle-East/North-Africa (MENA) and Europe.
Uniquely combining the power and flexibility of IP-based communications with the most advanced satellite transmission and data compression technologies, the MENOS system fully exploits the bandwidth efficiency of the DVB-RCS, DVB-S2 and MPEG-4 standards. It’s been developed by Newtec specifically to match the particular requirements of the ASBU members for media files exchange within the MENA region.
Mr. Khalid BALKHEYOUR, Arabsat President & CEO, enthusiastically welcomed the official launch of this major project on which Arabsat and the ASBU have already been actively working together with Newtec for 2 years as part of Arabsat’s strategy to rapidly expand its offering of Value-Added Services throughout the MENA region: We are extremely proud to have been able to reach this stage hand-in-hand with such remarkable organizations as ASBU and NEWTEC, introducing together into the Middle East this unique and amazing combination of IP and cutting-edge satellite transmission technologies” he commented, confirming Arabsats strong commitment to always remain at the forefront of state-of-the art technology and service offering. “We are honored by their trust in our system and confidence in the unbeatable performance of Arabsat’s constellation of BADR satellites at our 26° East primary video location he concluded.
In the first phase of its deployment, this system will be used daily by the 25 full members and associated members of ASBU to exchange real-time broadcasting content via a central HUB and 52 remote terminals; Ultimately, ASBU members have already planed to use up to 450 remote terminals within MENA: The MENOS concept offers exactly what broadcaster and satellite operators are looking for: More services and less satellite costs. MENOS will offer the technology required for our members and as well as other potential users in the region to build their own VPNs for their own national and regional operations. We are pleased with the partnership with Arabsat in this project that will allow us to continue our successful cooperation with them. We relied on Newtecs expertise in the past for the successful digitalization of our radio and television networks and trust they will show the same high level of innovation, quality and service for this project said Mr. Abdelhafidh HARGUEM, ASBU Director General.
Arabsat and the ASBU have entered into a Joint-Venture agreement for the MENOS space segment whereas Ku-band will be used from the new Arabsat BADR-4 satellite, scheduled for launch early November 2006.
The implementation of MENOS by ASBU and ARABSAT will offer numerous opportunities for ASBU members and other ARABSAT customers to access new services or improve existing business models. Newtec considers it as a privilege being able to support ASBU and ARABSAT to strengthen their leading position in the Arab world added Mr. Serge Van HERCK, Newtec CEO.
In a second phase, MENOS will be made available to any Arabsat customers for either Media content file exchanges or to large Corporations, Enterprises, and SMEs for high-speed data file exchange. — The network operational readiness is expected by mid-2007.
11 September 2006
Intelsat and Telenor Satellite Broadcasting (TSBc) jointly announced that they have entered into an agreement to interconnect the two companies fiber networks in London, providing customers of both Intelsat and Telenor with expanded, seamless access to new regions and services through each provider.
Under the agreement, Telenor now has complete access to services on Intelsats 51 satellites and globalConnex Media fiber and teleport network. This enables Telenor to offer global, end-to-end solutions to its broadcast customers who are primarily located in the UK, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. Telenor expects this new capability to generate particular interest among European broadcasters
who are seeking to carry U.S. professional sports content, especially for basketball and ice-hockey, which are already carried on Intelsats U.S. fiber network in both high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD).
The London interconnect, being established as an extension of Intelsats successful partnership with Broadwing Communications in the U.S., will allow Intelsat to provide its customers worldwide with services originating and terminating in six of Telenors European points-of-presence (PoP). Content will pass through the interconnect in first generation, with no format changes or conversions necessary. This will allow Intelsat to better support coverage of sports and news events originating in the region, and improve access to DTH platforms on Intelsat and Telenor satellites that are co-located at 1ºW.
This agreement is the latest phase in our successful, long-standing relationship with Intelsat. We expect this interconnect will significantly expand our customer service in Europe, said David Gilmore, Telenors Commercial Director. We look forward to bringing enhanced sports and news coverage in both SD and HD to programmers in Europe, as well as marketing the 1ºW European DTH platform to programmers worldwide.
Stephen Spengler, Intelsats Senior Vice President, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific Sales, said, The expansion of our presence in London is another example of how Intelsat, working in partnership with customers such as Telenor, is continuing to deliver more flexible and comprehensive solutions. Our
customers can now access the huge quantity of content carried on our network each day and reach global cable and DTH platforms in more than 40 cities on three continents via a simple fiber connection.
8 September 2006
Cambridge trial delivers multimedia mobile broadcasting over DAB and DVB-H standards
Trial to evaluate datacasting applications and complementary 3G delivery services
Penthera Technologies provides solution to utilise Microsofts Windows Media Encoding and Digital Rights Management Technology
Arqiva today announced that it has partnered with Microsoft Corp. to trial datacasting applications over DAB and DVB-H mobile broadcasting standards. The technical trial will test the integration of live multi-channel Mobile TV with two datacasting applications: clip and share and augmenting live events. Clip and share enables viewers to capture segments of live broadcasts and share the file with friends. Augmenting live events will use 3G services, widely seen as a complementary technology to mobile broadcasting, to deliver additional clips linked to the live broadcasts. This technology will enable viewers to tailor the Mobile TV viewing experience to their individual preferences: when watching a live broadcast of a football match the 3G return path can be used to access further information such as individual player profiles, match statistics or goal replays.
Arqivas partnership with Microsoft is part of the long-term industry trial of broadcast multimedia delivery using DVB and DAB taking place in Cambridge. Begun in June 2004, the companies are trialling the capabilities of terrestrial DAB and DVB broadcasting platforms for delivering video, audio and text-based information services to mobile devices.
Penthera Technologies has come on board for the latest stage of the trial to provide its newly launched Penthera Broadcast FoundationTM. A mobile broadcast test and demonstration environment, the Penthera Broadcast FoundationTM enables DVB-H mobile broadcasting in a test environment, from the first step of encoding video and audio content to receiving, selecting and viewing content on mobile devices a mobile-broadcast-in-a-boxTM solution. The Penthera Broadcast Foundation version being used in the trial utilises Microsofts Window Media Encoding and Digital Rights Management (DRM) Technology. Enabling content to be delivered securely to mobile devices, Microsofts DRM technology guards against revenue leakage and protects content rights.
Hyacinth Nwana, Arqivas managing director for Mobile Media Solutions, commented: By evaluating DRM options for mobile broadcasting, the industry can not only investigate how to secure its content and revenues, but also encourage the development of new business models and content distribution mechanisms. This trial gives us the opportunity to further investigate the services that can be delivered over DAB and DVB-H and how 3G can be used to complement these services. Were delighted to be continuing our work with Microsoft and Penthera and to be further developing our expertise in all aspects of mobile broadcasting technology.
Sam Leinhardt, CEO of Penthera, added, Penthera is pleased to work with Arqiva and Microsoft for this mobile broadcast trial of leading technology and services. As a leading global mobile broadcast software provider, our goal is to work with broadcasters, manufacturers and operators to create the most compelling services and applications that will drive mobile broadcast adoption.
8 September 2006
RadioScape, a world leader in digital multimedia head-end and receiver technology, is launching the latest version of its Professional Broadcast System at IBC 2006 on stand 353 in hall 8. RadioScapes market-leading, broadcast solution for DAB and Mobile TV (MTV) has been installed around the world with over 75 live systems and has been used in numerous broadcast trials. Version 5.1 has a new suite of functionality to directly address the latest Mobile TV and advanced data transmission requirements enabling DAB technologies to form the basis for new and exciting business opportunities, capitalising on the availability of suitable spectrum in many countries.
Powering new Mobile TV and Digital Radio broadcasts in Beijing
On the 6th of September 2006, Beijing Radio Stations and its affiliated company, Beijing Jolon Media Broadcasting Co., Ltd. officially launched full digital multi-media broadcasting services powered by RadioScapes Professional Broadcast System. This provides digital audio and video programs for mobile devices such as cellular phones, PDAs, and MP4s (advanced video players). The station has been offering DAB (Digital Audio Broadcast) from April 2006 and now adds multimedia information on government affairs, daily life, the city and real-time traffic news and weather.
China is becoming a real success story for RadioScape, said John Hall, RadioScapes CEO. The broadcasters want to have systems in place and working for the 2008 Olympic Games and so we have been working closely with them for the past three years to achieve this. To date, we have thirteen installations up and running in China covering all the major conurbations. We are working closely with other broadcasters and industry partners to support the adoption of this technology in China.
The success of Mobile TV in China is, in part, due to the adoption of Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) as a delivery technology. This uses the well-proven, Eureka 147 Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB) standard with additional forward error correction to ensure robust video reception in both fixed and mobile environments. One of key advantages of DMB is that the required spectrum is already available in many countries unlike other systems that have spectrum allocation issues that may take several years to resolve. This technology enables both digital audio and Mobile TV to be received on the same mobile device, which has proved a very popular feature according to users in trials.
New features of RadioScapes Professional Broadcast System Version 5.1
These include Enhanced Packet Mode data used to deliver DAB-IP services, the enabling of integration of third-party Conditional Access systems, advanced Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) features and the ability to support Asian language labels, DLS and data carousels.
Nick Banks, Product Manager for Digital Broadcasting Infrastructure, added, We have worked very closely with customers to ensure that we are first to deliver support for all of the functionality that they need to deliver when rolling-out the next-generation of Mobile TV services. In particular, the inclusion of support for secure Conditional Access to content has been identified as a key requirement for viable and successful business models. Naturally, we have also included features to enhance the user experience such as support for multi-byte character sets and EPGs. The result is a state-of-the-art Mobile TV broadcasting using technologies that have already been proven in the worlds largest DAB network in the UK and is being successfully deployed using existing, available spectrum.
Live Mobile TV demos
RadioScape will be showing Mobile TV broadcasts using DAB IP (Enhanced Packet mode) to BT Movio terminals and DMB to portable DMB devices. The flexibility of RadioScapes new Integra family of single-box solutions for DAB/DMB broadcasting can be clearly seen as one unit will be used for both broadcasts simultaneously.
8 September 2006
The annual awards for Excellence in Satellite Management 2006 were given during the 10th World Summit for Satellite Financing at a ceremony on 5 September 2006.
The winner of category Operator of the Year Growth & Profits was SES Global for a double digit revenue growth, result of a continuous investment strategy, as well as for sustained profit margins both in 2005 and in the last four years.
The winners of category Merger & Acquisition Transaction were Intelsat and Credit Suisse for the merger of Intelsat and PanAmSat, which has created a new world leader and which will have a long term impact on the FSS industry.
The winner of category Development of a National Operator was Telesat for both its strong financial performance and for the innovative services that the company continues to support for both video and communication applications.
The winners of category New MSS Project Financing was Globalstar and Wachovia, which underlines the new ambitions and strategy of the operator and its attractiveness to the financial market.
The 10th World Summit for Satellite Financing is organized by Euroconsult in partnership with SES Global, Milbank, Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, Marsh, Arianespace, ISB, ILS and SpaceIsle as well as media partners Space News and Satellite Finance.
8 September 2006
VTC has been awarded a contract to broadcast a significant number of analogue and digital shortwave programmes for the German International Broadcaster, Deutsche Welle.
VTC will broadcast an initial 90 hours per day of Deutsche Welle programmes, in 14 languages, from its network of UK and worldwide transmission sites, targeting more than 108 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America. The new arrangements will start from January 1 next year. The five-year contract, which provides Deutsche Welle with a highly flexible and cost effective service, includes potential to increase significantly programme transmission hours from May 2007.
VTC, which already owns and operates short wave and medium wave transmitter sites worldwide, will make a multi-million pound investment in its sites in the UK and its partner site in Austria to facilitate Deutsche Welles digital broadcast requirements. This will involve creating a newly re-engineered infrastructure to support the services required, including new transmitters, antennas and support infrastructure, demonstrating VTC’s commitment to providing state-of-the-art solutions for broadcasters in analogue and digital.
VTC has also been awarded a £1.4M contract with BBC World Service for the deployment of their new Satellite Media Distribution System (SMDS). The SMDS system replaces the current satellite based Global Delivery System (GDS), with Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) based technology. As the BBC addresses the challenges of the global media environment, this technology gives them greater flexibility and better management of their programme content and distribution.
The contract covers the migration from the GDS system to the SMDS system globally, over a 2-year period, including the shipping and installation of over 1000 new satellite receivers at BBC partner sites worldwide, as well as the reengineering of programme feeds at the BBC World Service overseas relay stations and FM relays and programme distribution hubs.
Award of this contract is recognition of VTC’s unique expertise and track record in providing programme delivery services to the BBC World Service over the last 9 years, and in managing innovative end-to-end solutions and system integration in over 100 countries from 29 locations around the world.
