_default _116_pages.indd - TELE-satellite International Magazine

MEDIA Satellite & Broadband News
encryption for the system, with two types
of decoders available (Humax HDCI-2000
and General Satellite’s HD-9000).
SCANDINAVIA
TANDBERG MPEG-4 AVC
COMPRESSION FOR TELENOR
Tandberg’s MPEG-4 AVC compression and
IP multiplexing solutions has been selected by
Telenor Satellite Broadcasting to provide IP video
contribution and direct-to-consumer IPTV services
in Scandinavia. Tandberg is providing encoding
and multiplexing from six locations across northern
Europe and Scandinavia, with all video distributed
across an IP transport network for IPTV consumer
services in Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
TELIASONERA SELECTS MEDIAFLEX
SMART WI-FI SYSTEM
TeliaSonera has selected and is deploying Ruckus
Wireless’ MediaFlex Smart Wi-Fi systems to
provide customers flicker-free wireless distribution
of the popular IP-based digital TV service
(IPTV), Telia Digital-TV, throughout their homes.
Telia Digital-TV, which has some 300,000
customers, offers subscribers around 70 TV
channels, 24-hour on-demand library of movies
and network-based, time-shifted TV services.
SERBIA
TELEKOM SRBIJA LAUNCHED
IPTV IN OCTOBER
Telekom Srbija launched an IPTV service on
October 15. According to Vladimir Lucic, director
of Telekom’s mobile division, the service will be
offered to the operator’s ADSL customers free of
charge during a promotional period lasting until
December 1, offering 80 domestic and foreign
channels. This capacity is expected to be increased
to carry around 200 TV channels in the future.
SWITZERLAND
NETSTREAM SELECTS ENTONE
SOLUTION FOR IPTV SERVICE
Swiss Internet service provider Netstream has
selected customer premises equipment from US
firm Entone for its high-definition managed IPTV
deployments with operators around Switzerland.
Netstream provides managed services and systems
integration to a number of telecoms operators,
including a managed white-label IPTV service, and
selected Entone’s Hydra HD IPTV video gateway
and Amulet HD IPTV set-top boxes. Hydra HD and
Amulet HD also support a number of home networking
technologies, including HomePlug, 802.11n and
HomePNA 3.0, enabling the provision of new revenue-generating
services such as whole-home DVR.
TURKEY
TURKEY TO LAUNCH TWO NEW
SATELLITES IN 6 YEARS
Turkey plans to launch two new satellites, Turksat
4A and Turksat 5A, in the next six years, which
is planned to cover north and central Africa. As
a result, the coverage area of Turkish satellites
will stretch out from eastern coast of the United
States to China, and also from Arabian Peninsula
to central Africa. Turksat plans to invite bids for
Turksat 4A at the end of 2008 and launch the
satellite in 2011. Turksat also projects to build
one more satellite within six years with 100%
national software. Turksat 5A would be built at
facilities of the Turkish Aerospace Industries in
2012 and was planned to be launched in 2014.
UNITED KINGDOM
BRITISH TELECOM CRITICAL
OVER KANGAROO IPTV
British Telecom has become the latest party to
warn that proposed BBC, ITV and Channel 4
on-demand joint venture Kangaroo raises serious
competition concerns. The firm, behind the BT
Vision IPTV service, has claimed that Kangaroo
would “very likely” reduce competition in the UK
VoD space – something that would be particularly
harmful to its own interests. BT Vision launched
at the end of 2006 and now has over 280,000
subscribers but hopes to reach two to three million
within the next three to five years. BT now fears,
however, that this target could be dented by the
arrival of Kangaroo in the marketplace, especially
given the UK-centric nature of the programming
the proposed service will make available.
SETANTA OFFERS IPTV SERVICE
TO UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
Sports broadcaster Setanta has signed a deal with
IPTV service provider Inuk to broadcast its service
to students at more than 40 universities in the UK.
The Inuk service allows students to watch more
than 50 TV channels on their PCs through the UK
university data network, Janet, which connects
all UK universities. For a £9.99 monthly subscription,
students will be offered a Freewire Extra
package, adding subscription channels such as
Setanta Sports, as well as channels from other
broadcasters including MTV and FX. More than
40,000 people are now receiving digital television
through Inuk’s Freewire TV IPTV service.