Satellite News

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Text of press release by Paris-based satellite network provider
GlobeCast has announced that its African DTH [direct-to-home] platform has successfully started transmissions on SES Astra’s Astra 4A (Sirius 4) satellite. African broadcaster VoxAfrica is one of the first channels to sign up for the new platform which provides sub-Saharan Africa’s widest and most powerful coverage.



VoxAfrica called on GlobeCast to provide capacity and distribution its programming to Africa. The new platform on Astra 4A, located at 5 East is the first Ku-band DTH platform with coverage over sub-Saharan Africa, providing broadcasters with the opportunity to reach households across the continent.
GlobeCast has contracted one transponder on the satellite that facilitates uplink from Europe and is compliant to distribute services to IPTV or terrestrial network head-ends.

The new platform, which is an alternative to the pay TV bouquets in sub-Saharan Africa, responds to a strong demand for free-to-air Ku-band coverage of this crucial region. Several African broadcasters are already in contact with GlobeCast to secure positions in this coveted space and extend their audience to 56 African countries.

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The Malaysian government has said it may be able to subsidise the bulk of the cost of switching to digital broadcasting, the New Straits Times reports.
Information Ministry Secretary-General Kamaruddin Siaraf said yesterday that viewers in Malaysia would not face the burden of paying more for digital transmissions if the government assumed responsibility for the system. “If the ministry is allowed to take the lead, we may subsidise the bulk of it, which would be the cost of replacing the transmitters.”


He was commenting on a statement by Abdul Rahman Ahmad, CEO of Malaysia’s biggest media company, Media Prima Berhad, that the industry cost of converting from analogue to digital could exceed US$270 million. Although Media Prima welcomed the proposal to switch to digital broadcasting, it expressed concern about the extra cost to the people and the industry.
Consumers are required only to purchase a set-up box to be fitted to television sets to receive digital signals once the digital system is in place in 2012. “We estimate that the set-up box will cost between RM300 (US$80) and RM500 (US$135) and that it would be a one-off purchase with no monthly charges,” Mr Kamaruddin said.