[Satellite TODAY Insider 02-11-11] Norwegian company Telenor Satellite Broadcasting (TSB) received approval from its board to procure and launch the Thor 7 satellite by the end of 2013, the company announced Feb. 10.
    The operator said the Ku- and Ka-band satellite will provide critical expansion of broadcasting services and data communications capacity to meet customer requirements within Central and Eastern Europe, where HDTV and 3-D TV are expected to play a key role in the long-term market. The satellite also will feature additional capacity for maritime services.
    The satellite will be positioned at 1 degree West, where TSB’s recent replacement and expansion satellites Thor 5 and Thor 6 are stationed.
    The announcement comes slightly later than TSB CEO Cato Halsaa planned. In a previous interview with Satellite TODAY Inisder, Halsaa said the operator had hoped to make the announcement by the end of September.
    “We are planning another satellite. We are now at the detailed planning stage for the new satellite. The demand for capacity we see is strong. We also want to have more capacity available for the data communications market. So, with that in mind, the satellite might be bigger than Thor 5 and Thor 6. I would expect us to make an announcement in the third quarter (concerning a new satellite). From what I can gather, Telenor will continue to support strong business proposals in satellite,” Halsaa said.
    TSB’s telco parent company Telenor hopes Thor 7 will provide a growth spark in a regional market where DTH services appear to have reached a peak and, in some cases, has declined. Telenor also owns Canal Digital, which reported 997,000 DTH subscribers in its full-year results compared to the 1.06 million subscribers it had at the end of 2009.

Related Stories-

Pace s Ward: Canal Digital Deal to Cement Company Position in Nordic Region    Satellite Today   January 20, 2011
[Satellite TODAY Insider 01-20-11] U.K. set-top box hardware manufacturer Pace signed a deal to provide Canal Digital Sweden with Pace s MDC1000 head-end platform in an effort to expand the company s presence in the Nordic market, Pace Networks…

Telenor Leases Thor 3 Broadband Capacity to Vicus Luxlink   Satellite Today   December 22, 2010
[Satellite TODAY 12-22-10] Teleport services provider Vicus Luxlink has leased six transponders of Thor 3 inclined-satellite capacity from Telenor Satellite Broadcasting (TSB) with the option of an additional two transponders, the operator…

TiVo Goes International with Canal Digital Partnership    Satellite Today   November 22, 2010
[Satellite TODAY Insider 11-22-10] TiVo has signed a strategic alliance deal with Canal Digital, one of the Nordic region s main pay-TV providers. The deal will see TiVo products introduced and distributed to Canal Digital s satellite customers in…