Key:
D = Digital
A = Analogue

68.5 degrees E: PAS-4 & 7
A. Sima-yeh Moghavemat, the Iranian opposition TV channel that is licensed by the ITC in the UK, has been fined Pounds 20,000 for broadcasting material likely to incite violence or disorder. This breaks the ITC Programme Code. The offending programmes, which aired in July of this year, appeared to support the aims of the National Council of Resistance, the political arm of the powerful Mojahedin organisation whose primary aim is to oust the fundamentalist mullahs in the government. Sima-yeh Moghavemat shares 11170 MHz horizontal with Sat 7 in clear PAL. It also uses Hotbird capacity for its daily one hour broadcasts.

64 degrees E: Intelsat-804
D. TV1 Mozambique and the radio service Emissâ o Nacional have left 3681 MHz RHCP, SR 5632, FEC 3/4. They re-appeared several days later on 3654 MHz RHCP, SR 5632, FEC 3/4, VPID 512, APID 412, with the TV audio via the right channel and radio via the left channel. Also, TV Uganda is another absentee at 3923 MHz RHCP, SR 4882, FEC 2/3. There are several interesting offerings from Africa here. TV Africa Med continues in clear MPEG-2 at 3668 MHz RHCP, SR 5312, FEC 2/3 and TV Tanzania can still be found on 3644 MHz RHCP, SR 4443, FEC 3/4.

62 degrees E: Intelsat-602
A. The four Iranian state television channels continue to use Intelsat-602 capacity to feed their signals to terrestrial relays within the country. IRIB TV1 is on 11174 MHz vertical, TV2 is at 10998 MHz vertical, TV3 11096 MHz vertical and TV4 is at 10964 MHz vertical. All are in the clear. The Iranian authorities are still planning to operate their own DTH satellite, though this has been promised for many years. Apparently, the Iranian Deputy PTT minister has announced that the government is engaged in talks with both India and China regarding a launch vehicle for its Zohreh satellite (Zohreh literally translates as Venus).

60 degrees E: Intelsat-604
A. A daily feed of a news bulletin from the Chinese channel CCTV1 can be seen on one of the two feed transponders here, 4166 or 4188 MHz RHCP between 1100 and 1200 in clear PAL. On November 27 at 1115 an NTSC feed from Manila in the Philippines to Seoul, South Korea was fed over 4188 MHz RHCP.

42 degrees E: Turksat-1C
D. Five new radio channels have been added to the line-up on 11469 MHz vertical. They are Radio Blue (A34), Super FM (A35), Kral FM (A36), Lokum FM (A37), Joy FM (A770) and Metro FM (A1538). All are free-to-air. At 1830 on November 23 10978 MHz vertical, SR 4686, FEC 3/4, V1110, A1211 was displaying this caption "CNN TURK. ANKARA BURO". The EPG entry was "Kofisa".

40 degrees E: Gorizont-31
D. Radio Chechnja Svobodnaja (Radio Liberty Chechen service) has launched on 3658 MHz RHCP in free-to-air MPEG-2 alongside the Russian channel TV Kultura.

36 degrees E: Gals-1/2, Most-1, Eutelsat-II-F3
D. 11088 MHz horizontal, SR 5632, FEC 3/4, VPID 308, APID 256, was fired up at 1830 on November 24 with this caption "SISlink 38 UKI-507. 0044 7801 641345" in clear MPEG-2

30.5 degrees E: Arabsat-2B
A. A live interview for Abu Dhabi TV was fed over 3965 MHz RHCP in clear PAL on November 23 at 2030. The interview was broadcast in real time on Abu Dhabi TV via Arabsat-2A, 4038 MHz RHCP.

28.2 degrees E: Astra-2A
D. Astra-1D has arrived here from 19.2 degrees East to provide temporary back-up duties for the 2A craft. The regional variations of BBC Choice have moved in the EPG to Channels 951, 952 and 953 to clear the way for the new radio stations which launched here recently. A forthcoming new addition to the Sky Digital line-up is Simply Money, which is hoping to launch within the next two or three months. The channel will be aimed at those who require information about mortgages, investments and savings and will relay the information in layman’s terms. Singer/actor Adam Faith’s The Money Channel plans to launch here too in March 2000. The Nigerian channel Minaj Broadcasting is going in and out of encryption on 11973 MHz vertical as it carries out tests on the system. The channel appears to sign on at around 1800 daily. Minaj is available in many western and central African cities via cable distribution. The channel is planning to set up production facilities in the UK, the Caribbean and the US. It already has an office in Mayfair, London. The Bangla TV/Pakistani Channel partnership on 11973 MHz vertical is now encoded. The Sky Digital Information Channel now appears in no less than four different locations within the Sky EPG. It can be found at Channels 970, 971, 972 and 999. Owing to apparent encoding problems Sky Box Office 41-45 on 12226 MHz horizontal is currently free-to-air. This has been the situation for several days. A Channel East promo has launched on 11973 MHz vertical via PIDs V2322, A2324, Channel 688 in the EPG. It is identified as "HDS" in the EPG. Rapture Sat has launched, as expected, on 11758 MHz horizontal, VPID 2315, APID 2316, Channel 187 in the EPG in clear MPEG-2. The channel airs on Saturdays/Sundays only from 1000-1800

26 degrees E: Arabsat-2A & 3A
D. Orbit Express Shop and an Orbit promo channel are stream sharing on 11747 MHz vertical via PIDs V2660, A2620 in free-to-air MPEG-2.
A. Ajman TV has left 3990 MHz LHCP and has been replaced by Emirates Media in clear PAL.

19.2 degrees E: Astra 1A-C & E-G
D. Wishline, a new very upmarket shopping channel, has started tests on 12012 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4. The promo currently running indicates that it will specialise in selling anything from luxury yachts to luxury houses, mostly in France. The channel is set for a December 4 launch. Belgium’s Radio Vlaanderen International has started to use 12475 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, APID 901 in addition to the new outlet on Telecom-2D at 5 degrees West. Dutch state radio channels, Radio 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 on 12515 MHz horizontal, SR 22000, FEC 5/6 were all free-to-air last week but had returned to their usual encrypted state by November 25.
A. In January the Swiss channel Teleclub is to cease analogue transmissions on 10803 MHz horizontal. In its place the German news and business channel N24 will launch on January 24. Teleclub’s departure will mean that the Swiss ADR stations which currently accompany it will be forced to move. They are to join BR Alpha at 11686 MHz vertical from January 3. The new line-up on the back of BR Alpha will be Virus 7.74 MHz, World Radio Switzerland 7.92 MHz, Swiss Pop 8.10 MHz, Swiss Classic 8.28 MHz and Swiss Culture & Jazz 8.46 MHz, all in ADR mode. Swiss Radio International is to stop ADR transmissions from January 2.

16 degrees E: Eutelsat-W2
D. Both House of Commons and House of Lords TV have vacated 11304 MHz vertical. These live relays from Parliament were operated by BT and were encoded. Live coverage of the Ajax-vs-Mallorca soccer game in the UEFA Cup for the Dutch state TV channel NED 2 was fed over 11141 MHz horizontal, SR 5632, FEC 3/4, VPID 33, APID 34 in clear MPEG-2 on November 27. 10994 MHz horizontal, SR 6398, FEC 3/4, V33, A34 carried this caption at 1825 on November 23: "BT32 UKI 367". This later changed to "EUPHON-EST 1". At 1840 this stream was used to feed live coverage of the Fiorentina-vs-Manchester United soccer match in the Champions League for the Italian channel, Canale 5. On November 24 at 1900 colour bars were sighted on 11124 MHz horizontal, SR 5632, FEC 3/4, V308, A256. The EPG data read "XP13P82/4". The Italian radio service, Radio Nostalgia, has returned to 12703 MHz vertical, SR 5924, FEC 3/4, APID 37.

13 degrees E: Eutelsat Hotbirds 1/2/3/4/5
D. MTV France and VH-1 UK are currently free-to-air within the Viacom package on 11242 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4. On 11027 MHz horizontal, SR 4215, FEC 7/8, a new mini-package has launched containing J Channel/Holy Sat (V257, A258), Test Stream (V513, A514), Venus TV (V769, A770) and Radio Gal (A771). www.travel is the name of a new travel channel based in Malta which has launched on 12539 MHz vertical. The difference between this and the many other channels of a similar type is that www.travel, as the title suggests, is an interactive venture in conjunction with its website at http://www.travel.net. The audio line-up within the Italian Stream platform on 11843 MHz vertical has been changed. The current line-up is Radio Dimensione Suono (A2312), Super Rock (A2313), HitParade (A2314), Radio Voyager (A2315), Classic Rock (A2316), Radio Antena 1 (A2317), Radio Rock (A2318), RTL 102.5 Hit Radio (A2320), Radio 101 (A2321), Radio Rock 98.7 FM (A2322), Soft Rock (A2702) and Heavy Metal (A2703). Unfortunately all of these are encoded in Irdeto. TGRT, the Art Channel and Krisma are stream sharing on 12539 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 4355, APID 4356. NTV (the Turkish news channel as opposed to the Russian and German channels of the same name) is to start broadcasting English news bulletins to enable non-Turkish speakers to learn more about the country. They will be aired at 0545, 0645, 1345 and 2145 daily for 30 minutes. NTV can be seen on 12111 MHz vertical via Hotbird and also on Telstar-5 at 97 degrees West for US viewers. The Gold Channel launched on December 1 at 12111 MHz vertical, VPID 330, APID 331 in free-to-air MPEG-2. TRBuonconsiglio, an Italian radio channel, has opened on 12673 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, APID 401. The French channel AB Moteurs has replaced AB Sport on 11681 MHz horizontal. A new test channel has joined the Croatian package on 12520 MHz vertical. It is named in the EPG as "HRT Test". WorldNet, from the US Information Agency, has launched on 12485 MHz vertical, SR 8296, FEC 3/4, VPID 4260, APID 4220 in free-to-air MPEG.
A. Shop America has left 11565 MHz horizontal.

10 degrees E: Eutelsat-II-F4
D. The two Turkish independent channels, Pop TV and Olay TV, have moved in frequency slightly. Pop is now on 11019 MHz horizontal whilst Olay can be found on 11024 MHz horizontal. Phoenix Chinese News and Entertainment (PCNE) has launched on 11132 MHz horizontal, SR 5632, FEC 3/4, VPID 308, APID 256 in free-to-air MPEG-2. The new channel airs from 0500-1200 daily. Two recorded Portuguese soccer games between Maritemo/Beleneses, and Sporting/U. Leiria for SporTV were fed over 11104 MHz horizontal, V4194, A4196 and 11134 MHz horizontal, V308, A256 during the evening of November 27 in clear MPEG-2. Some soccer feeds for the Turkish channel TeleOn were carried via an SCPC carrier at 11010 MHz horizontal, SR 2169, FEC 7/8, VPID 512, APID 650 in clear MPEG-2 on November 27. TeleON is a member of the StarDigital package on Turksat-1C at 42 degrees East.

7 degrees E: Eutelsat-W3
D. TV5 Europe has replaced the Asian version of TV5 in the Best of Eutelsat package on 11385 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 4202, APID 4203.

5 degrees E: Sirius-1/2
D. A monochrome test pattern has replaced the South American channel, Canal Sur, at 12380 MHz horizontal. A caption displayed intermittently on 12109 MHz horizontal, SR 27200, FEC 3/4, VPID 52, APID 53 indicates that live coverage of Scottish soccer matches will be fed here by AlbaSat for the Iberian peninsula and the Canary Islands every Saturday and Sunday. The feeds will be encoded.

3 degrees E: Telecom-2C
D. A live shot of a racecourse was fed over 12546 MHz horizontal, SR 6283, FEC 7/8, VPID 308, APID 256 on November 20 at 1005. The EPG entry was "FTR/F 33/1". A news report in Welsh was fed over 12538 MHz horizontal, SR5630, FEC 3/4, VPID 308, APID 256 on the 24th at 1835. The EPG data read "UKI 428 Agenda TV U7".
A. A corporate feed by the French company Futuroscope was fed over 12650 MHz vertical in clear PAL on November 17 at 1700. On the 24th at 1840 12546 MHz horizontal was active with a piece for BBC Scotland’s local magazine programme from the National Art Gallery in Edinburgh in clear PAL. Following the feed the transponder cut to colour bars overlaid with the familiar "BBC UKI 234" identifier. Also on the 24th a live interview with some Manchester City footballers for Sky Sports News was relayed on 12705 MHz horizontal. The post feed caption read "TES16 G00109G".

0.8 degrees /1 degrees W: Thor 1, 2 & 3
& Intelsat-707
D. Another Estonian radio station, Radio 100 FM, has launched on 11665 MHz vertical, APID 649. Luna TV, the new independent channel from Slovakia on 11540 MHz vertical, is now encoded in Conax. Pop FM, a Danish radio station, has launched on 11618 MHz vertical, SR 5063, FEC 3/4 in clear MPEG-2.

5 degrees W: Telecom-2B/D
D. Another EuroSport stream has started here, this time on 11651 MHz vertical, SR 6800, FEC 5/6, VPID 721, APID 731 in clear MPEG-2. ASDA FM, the radio service fed to hundreds of Asda stores throughout the UK, has launched on 11493 MHz vertical via APID 672. The station is also available via NSS-K at 21.5 degrees West, 11646 MHz vertical.
A. TV5 Europe has been replaced by the French version of the channel at 12648 MHz vertical. A feed from the French Alps for TVE was sighted on November 22 at 1830 at 11555 MHz horizontal in clear PAL.

12 degrees W: Eutelsat-II-F2
D. CITY-TV, a Toronto based local TV channel, has launched on 11158 MHz vertical, SR 9998, FEC 1/2, VPID 33, APID 34, in clear MPEG-2. The channel airs here 24 hours a day but the reason for its presence is unclear. Toronto Radio has also appeared here via APID 35. SIC Internacional on 12574 MHz vertical has changed SR to 4140.

15 degrees W: Telstar-12
D. The European beam configured transponder line-up has been announced. They are 11006, 11070, 11133, 11483, 11546, 11608, 11672, 12528, 12591, 12654, 12717 MHz vertical, 11006, 11070, 11133, 11484, 11546, 11608, 11672, 12528, 12591, 12654, 12717 MHz horizontal. Strong peak to black carriers have been sighted on 11070, 11546, 12591 and 12717 MHz horizontal over the last few days as transponder soak tests are carried out.

18 degrees W: Intelsat-705
D. TVR2 from Romania has left 10978 MHz horizontal, SR 5999, FEC 3/4, VPID 1260, APID 1220 and has been replaced by Prima TV, which is dual illuminating on this frequency.
A. On 4166 MHz RHCP a feed from a conference in Doha, Qatar was fed in clear PAL on November 22 at 1645. An "I56 BARI" uplink identifier was observed at 1550 on November 24 on 11134 MHz vertical in clear PAL. The same transponder was in use again later on the same day with a "RAI-CNCT ROMA" testcard. The 6.60 MHz audio subcarrier was relaying a tape loop with "RAI Roma. Audio channel one" in English.

21.3 degrees /21.5 degrees W: NSS-803 & NSS-K
D. Live coverage of the Bilbao-vs-Atletico Madrid soccer match was fed over 11617 MHz vertical, SR 5632, FEC 3/4 in free-to-air MPEG-2 during the afternoon of November 20. ASDA FM is using two streams at 11646 MHz vertical, APIDs 1122 and 1123 alongside After FM, which is on APID 1123. The San Antonio-vs-Chicago NBA game was fed over 11542 MHz horizontal, SR 5632, FEC 3/4, VPID 512, APID 650 for Fox Sports at midnight on 26/27 November in clear MPEG-2. This match was dual-illuminated on Eutelsat-W2 at 16 degrees East, 11132 MHz horizontal. 11542 carried another game immediately after between Detroit and Indiana. At the same time the Portland-vs-Houston NBA game was available on 11550 MHz, SR 5632, FEC 3/4 in encoded MPEG. On November 23 at 1810 colour bars overlaid with "US POOL Path 1 AVIANO" were sighted on 11625 MHz vertical, SR 5700, FEC 3/4, V308, A256 in clear MPEG-2/NTSC. This caption has not been seen since the Balkan crisis. Aviano is the Italian airbase used extensively by NATO aircraft during the conflict. On 11625 MHz vertical, SR 5700, FEC 3/4, a collection of data channels appeared temporarily on November 24 at 1550. In the EPG they were identified as "Multicast 1", "Multicast 2", "Multicast 3", "Unicast 1" and "DI".

24.5 degrees W: NSS-603
A. Two feeds from Cuba have been noted here recently. On November 15 at 1950 feed transponder 4166 MHz RHCP was fired up with this caption "EFE TV. LA HABANA" in clear NTSC. The following evening at 1640 4188 MHz RHCP was carrying a feed from a conference in Havana attended by Fidel Castro. This was also in clear NTSC.

30 degrees W: Hispasat-1A/B
A. On feed transponder 11575 MHz vertical a feed from Zaragoza in Spain for TVE was observed in clear PAL on November 22 at 1825.

34.5 degrees W: Intelsat-601
A. On November 23 at 1915 a report from Chile for the Spanish network TVE was fed over 4166 MHz RHCP in clear NTSC.

37.5 degrees W: Telstar-11
& Columbia-515
D. Loral Space and Communications have announced that their Orion satellites, Orion-1 and 2 plus Apstar-2R at 76.5 degrees East, have been renamed. They are now to be known as Telstar-11 and 12 and Apstar-2R/Telstar-10 (the entire Apstar-2R transponder payload is leased to Loral Orion by the APT Satellite Company Ltd.) This is to reflect their inclusion in the Loral Skynet fleet.

43 degrees W: PAS-3R & PAS-6
D. The Mexican digital platform Televisa has moved from 12583 MHz vertical to 12651 MHz vertical. The entire package, which includes Galavision and Eco, is encoded in Viaccess.

53 degrees W: Intelsat-706
D. The French organisation, RFO (Reseau France Outremer) has joined a new GlobeCast digital platform for the south Pacific. The output is aimed at the residents of New Caledonia and its surrounding islands. So far three channels are active within the encoded package on 3935 MHz LHCP, SR 27500, FEC 3/4: RFO Tempo, Canal+ Caledonie and Canal+ Polynesie.

All times in UTC unless otherwise stated.
SR – Symbol Rate
FEC – Forward Error Correction
VPID – Video Programme Identifier
APID – Audio Programme Identifier