by offering content owned by SK Group, which has several media affiliates. KT’s IPTV service, dubbed Mega TV, has 800.000 subscribers, while SK Broadband’s Broad & TV has 780.000 and LG Dacom’s myLGtv has 65.000.
TAIWAN CHT MOD ENDS 2008 WITH 600.000 IPTV SUBSCRIBERS
Taiwan’s largest telecommunications company, Chunghwa Telecom (CHT), closed 2008 with over 600.000 subscribers for its IPTV service, which launched in 2005. CHT’s MOD is provided via its ADSL network, subscribers are provided with rental set-top boxes to select and receive programs. In addition to broadcast TV channels, CHT MOD offers on-demand services for movies, TV series and anime titles.
VIETNAM VTC LAUNCHES HDTV CHANNELS VIA SATELLITE
The Viet Nam Multimedia Corporation (VTC) launched the second generation digital television receiver and the first ever HDTV channels in Vietnam during January. All channels are broadcast through the national satellite VINASAT-1, which was launched in April 2008. The new product services, which were researched and produced by VTC, will serve the demands of Vietnamese people nationwide with 40 special digital television channels, including 8-HDTV channels and 32 SDTV channels. The satellite’s footprint covers Viet Nam, Laos, East Asia, India and Australia. HDTV receivers are now sold on the domestic market for over VND3.5 million (US$ 205.8) each.
AUSTRALIA & PACIFIC AUSTRALIA MYKP TO TRIAL IPTV SERVICES
Sydney-based ISP myKP plans to start trialling IPTV services, according to local media reports, quoting company director George Kaloudis. No planned start date was given for the trials, but Kaloudis added that the ISP is “in discussions with several international content suppliers working through licensing agreements”. The company is expected to focus particularly on rural areas which lack a variety of media outlets.
NEW ZEALAND SKY SELLS 54.000 HD BOXES IN 2008
Sky Television surpassed its sales target for the MySky HDi high definition satellite TV receivers. Although the company projected to sell around 40.000 units it ended 2008 by selling 54.000, putting it neck and neck with free, state-funded rival Freeview, which boasts sales of just over 52.500. As a result, Sky is well on track to reach the 80,000 first year sales projection, if not exceed it. The company attributes the success of the HD launch to the penetration of HD capable sets, competition with Freeview raising HD awareness and the recession keeping people at home.
AFRICA INTELSAT TO LAUNCH NEW DAWN IN 2010
A US$ 250 million telecommunications satellite dedicated to supplying telecommunications services to Africa is to be built over the next two years and launched in the fourth quarter of 2010. Over half of the capacity of the new satellite has already been sold to major clients, including Gateway Communications, Gilat Satcom, Vodacom and Zain Nigeria. Named New Dawn, the satellite will be operated by Intelsat in a joint venture with a consortium of African investors, led by South Africa’s Convergence Partners and Altirah Telecoms. New Dawn will be equipped with 52 equivalent 36 MHz transponder units, divided into 28 C-Band and 24 Ku-Band units. Africa’s first dedicated telecommunications satellite, Nigerian owned and operated NigComSat-1 in November 2008 after only 22 months in orbit.
WORLD HDTV INTEROPERABILITY TESTS TO START IN JUNE
The World Broadcasting Unions International Satellite Operations Group (WBU-ISOG) and 11 vendors of HDTV MPEG-4 decoders/encoders have agreed to begin interoperability testing to ensure that HD video feeds are transmitted seamlessly. Formal tests will begin on 8 June 2009 and will be conducted by Telesat in Canada. The 11 vendors are ATEME, Comtech TV, Evertz Microsystems, Fujitsu, Harmonic, International DataCasting, NTT Electronics Corporation, Scopus Video Networks, Sencore, Tandberg Television and Thomson.