Key:
D – Digital
A – Analogue

62 degrees E:
Intelsat-602
D. Iran has joined the digital revolution at last. Sahar Universal Network, a cultural and educational channel, has launched on 11053 MHz vertical, SR 5998, FEC 3/4, VPID 308, APID 256, in free-to-air MPEG-2. Unfortunately a spot beam centred on Iran is being used so reception in the UK is not possible. Sahar was previously available via 11128 MHz vertical in Pal. This outlet has now closed. Up at 11134 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, an Iranian package has been testing intermittently containing the domestic TV channels IRIB TV1, IRIB TV2, IRIB TV3, IRIB TV4 plus Sahar Universal Network and Jaam-e-Jam Network. All of these are free-to-air. When the test transmissions are not present a Jaam-e-Jam testcard is displayed but with different parameters i.e. SR 3100, FEC 3/4, VPID 308, APID 256. Once again the Iranian military have been in action in their fight against the reception of foreign radio and TV broadcasts. Apparently over 700 satellite receivers were seized last month after being found hidden in a truck.
A. Despite all the digital activity in Iran, IRIB TV1, 2 3 continue to broadcast in analogue format on 11172 MHz, 10998 MHz and 11094 MHz vertical respectively, although it must be only a matter of time before these transmissions bite the dust. One change is that all three channels were switched over from Secam to Pal last week. A news programme from Pakistan’s PTV1 was fed over 4166 MHz RHCP in clear Pal on January 26 at 1850.

60 degrees E:
Intelsat-604
A. Coverage of the Fiorentina-vs-Venezia soccer match was fed over 4188 MHz RHCP in clear Pal on January 26 from 1855. Italian commentary was available via the 6.60 MHz subcarrier. At 1630 on February 1 a report on the plane crash off the coast of Ivory Coast in west Africa was fed over 4188 MHz RHCP in clear Pal for an unknown recipient.

57 degrees E:
NSS-703
D. Altay TV from Almaty, the capital of Kazakhstan, has launched via an SCPC carrier at 10996 MHz horizontal, SR 4444, FEC 3/4 in free-to-air MPEG-2. The transponder is configured for a spot beam centred on Kazakhstan.
A. Feed traffic is very rare here but on January 27 4135 MHz LHCP was fired up from 1350 with a feed from India on software, computer and Internet matters. The piece was in clear Pal with audio, in Hindi and English, via the 6.60 MHz subcarrier.

42 degrees E:
Turksat-1C
D. Turkey’s Prima TV has been replaced by Kiss TV on 10985 MHz vertical. The new channel, which is almost identical in format to Prima, mostly airs pop videos.
A. Bayrak TV International from Turkish occupied northern Cyprus is transponder sharing with TRT International on 11093 MHz vertical in clear Pal. Bayrak TV is only available in the evenings from 2100-2200 (Thursday and Sunday) and 2230-0030 (Saturday).

36 degrees E:
Gals-1/2, Most-1, Eutelsat II-F3
D. The Italian business channel, Class Financial Network (CFN) has started regular programming on 12568 MHz horizontal, SR 2353, FEC 3/4, VPID 940, APID 941 in clear MPEG-2. The parameters for Il Tirreno Sat on 12528 MHz horizontal have changed slightly. They are now SR 2521, FEC 2/3. It seems that UK breakfast broadcaster GMTV is now using Eutelsat- II-F3 capacity for its inter-UK feeds instead of NSS-K and that SIS is providing the uplinks instead of Reuters. On February 1 at 0655 11055 MHz, SR 5632, FEC 3/4, was active with a live feed from outside the surgery of convicted serial killer Dr Harold Shipman in Hyde, Cheshire. The report was by GMTV presenter John Stapleton. The EPG data read “SISLink 38. 5632 Msys”. ITN uses SIS facilities here also for its feed traffic. On the same day at 0700, 11590 MHz horizontal was active with this caption over colour bars “BBC NEWS FRANCE. Ton Kamminga. +31 654 306 207. Space Lynx HOL 070. IFB Line +31 655.113.249”. Also on February 1, a live report for Sky News from Moscow by Reuters was sighted on 11599 MHz horizontal, SR 5630, FEC 3/4, VPID 308, APID 256, EPG: RTV Moscow 4″ in clear MPEG-2. At the end of the live piece to camera the correspondent was heard arranging a later feed for BBC News 24 over the same circuit. On February 2 at 0840 GMTV used 11079 MHz horizontal for a live feed from the Hampshire home of its resident GP, Dr Hilary. After the live insert some voiceover audio by the doctor for a report to be aired later in the week was fed over the stream. After this the stream cut to colour bars overlaid with “SIS32 UKI 486 – GMTV OB UNIT 1”. The EPG data was “5632 Msys”. On February 7 the hijacking of an Afghan Ariana Boeing 727 which was eventually flown to Stansted in Essex in the UK caused quite a stir here. As delicate negotiations were carried out with the hijackers several digital streams burst into life for Sky News, ITN and others. At 1725, 11047 MHz horizontal was carrying a feed in MPEG 4:2:2. A couple of minutes later the signal switched to a live feed from Stansted with the Afghan aircraft in the background. The EPG data read “UKI 415 REUTERS TV”. At the same time 11079 MHz horizontal, SR 5632, FEC 3/4, VPID 308, APID 256, EPG: “5.632 Msyms/s 420” was relaying the Sky News feed from an almost identical camera angle. 11056 MHz horizontal was carrying a feed from the same site for an unidentified Arabic language channel at 1800 with a live piece to camera by their correspondent. Also at 1800, 11071 MHz horizontal carried a live shot of the aircraft from a fixed camera for ITN.

30.5 degrees E:
Arabsat-2B
A. On January 28 live coverage of the Egypt-vs-Senegal soccer match was fed over 3990 MHz RHCP in it’s entirety in clear Pal from 1730. The game was being aired live by the Egyptian Space Channel, Saudi Channel 2 and Sudan TV (see also Intelsat-603 at 24.5 degrees West).

28.5 degrees E:
Kopernikus-DFS2
D. VT4 has left 12512 MHz vertical, SR 5632, FEC 3/4 to be replaced by a VT4 caption. The radio channels here, C-Dance, Radio Magdalena and Radio Vlaanderen International, are all still present. VT4 is available in clear MPEG-2 via Sirius, 5 degrees East capacity at 11493 MHz vertical. The cable headend feed of NBC Europe has moved from 11667 MHz horizontal to 11610 MHz horizontal, SR 4444, FEC 1/2, VPID 33, APID 34. The channel is still broadcasting in clear MPEG-2 on the new frequency.
A. A live feed for WDR from an outside location in Germany was fed over 11548 MHz vertical in clear Pal on January 31 at 0750. The post-feed caption indicated that the feed facilities were supplied by “F* Sat”.

28.2 degrees E:
Astra-1D & 2A
D. Simply Money has officially launched at 12129 MHz vertical, Ch.522 in the Sky Digital EPG. The channel airs daily from 0700-0100 in clear MPEG-2. Rapture TV, with programming aimed at teenagers, on 11758 MHz horizontal is now broadcasting daily from 1000-1800. Previously the channel was only available at weekends. Euronews has been spotted using the S4C2 stream at Ch.519 in the Sky EPG at times during the day. Possibly the channel, which is part owned by ITN, is looking to join the Sky Digital line up soon. The new Asian channel, Channel East on 11973 MHz vertical has started regular programming after nearly three months of airing a promo tape. Channel East has just appeared in the Sky EPG at Ch.688 and is broadcasting free-to-air from 0600-0000 daily. It will become encoded later. A cable only version of the adult channel, TVX, has appeared on 11740 MHz vertical. The EPG entry is “TVX Cable”. Staying with cable, there is a cable-only version of Sky One on 11837 MHz horizontal too. The EPG data here is “S1 (Cable)”. Following hot on the heels of Asda, Blue Square — an online betting service — has announced that it is to join the Open… interactive service from next month and the Woolwich has started to accept registrations for new interactive financial service due to launch in the summer. Clothing retailer Next and travel company Going Places launched via Open… last week. Somewhat later than expected, Zee TV has finally encoded in Videoguard on 12129 MHz vertical. However it appears to be only testing the encryption, as at times the channel reverts to clear MPEG-2. Zee’s Bangla service on 11973 MHz vertical is now also encoded. Music Asia on 11973 MHz vertical was encoded from February 6. The Money Channel officially launched on February 7 on Ch.516. The channel’s joint managing director, singer and actor Adam Faith, is presenting some of the programmes himself. The channel is broadcasting 24 hours a day and will remain free-to-air.

26 degrees E:
Arabsat-2A & 3A
D. As expected, the shiny new Abu Dhabi TV has returned to its former frequencies, 4059 MHz RHCP (SR 6110, FEC 3/4, V33, A34), 11767 MHz horizontal (V3860, A3820) and 12620 MHz vertical (V2660, A2620).
A. As with its digital outlets, Abu Dhabi is back on 4044 MHz RHCP and 11840 MHz horizontal in clear Pal.

21 degrees E:
Afristar
D. BBC World service is testing here in readiness for a full service due to launch in around three months time. So far the African and Middle East streams have been heard.

19.2 degrees E:
Astra 1A-C & E-G
D. The German channel TM3 will launch a new free-to-air digital bouquet in August of this year using Astra-1F capacity at 12480 MHz vertical. The package will include sports, movies and several lifestyle channels.
A. N24, the new German all news channel, has launched on 10803 MHz horizontal in clear Pal. Devotees of the old Radio Luxembourg will have to wait a little longer for the station’s rebirth via Astra analogue capacity. The station is now expected to launch in mid February on the back of Super RTL, 11391 MHz horizontal via the 7.38/7.56 MHz subcarriers. The Japanese channel JSTV is expected to cease analogue transmissions by the end of this year. JSTV uses 10774 MHz horizontal. Much of the programming is drawn from Japan’s state broadcaster NHK. It looks like the beginning of the end for BSkyB’s analogue service as it has announced that the Sky Box Office channels and FilmFour will be the first to go. The rundown begins in March. In April Granada Breeze and the computer/technology channel .tv will follow suite. UK Gold, which is still available in analogue format as well as digital is to extend broadcasting hours to become a 24 hour station from March.

16 degrees E:
Eutelsat-W2
D. During the afternoon of January 29 live coverage of a volleyball match between Del Monte and Lube was fed over 11141 MHz horizontal, SR 5632, FEC 3/4 in clear MPEG-2 for the Italian channel TMC2. The Enex “A” stream at 12509 MHz horizontal carried a live report from the scene of a German rail crash at Bruehl near Cologne for RTL at 1730 on February 7 in free-to-air MPEG-2. After the feed colour bars were displayed overlaid with the uplink ID, “D29 BRUEHL”.
A. TV Montenegro has stopped its analogue transmissions on 11148 MHz horizontal. The channel continues to be available in clear MPEG via Hotbird. TV Bosnia-Herzegovina (TVBiH) has moved from 11163 MHz horizontal to 11148 MHz vertical where it can be found in clear Pal with audio at 6.60 MHz. At the same time broadcast times have been extended to 1800- 2200 daily. This means that the main domestic evening news bulletin, which was previously aired time-shifted by one hour, will now be shown live at 1800. Radio Bosnia-Herzegovina can be heard in the audio baseband at 7.02 MHz.

13 degrees E:
Eutelsat Hotbirds 1/2/3/4/5
D. Mizik Tropical Radio has launched on the back of the TV channel of the same name at 12476 MHz horizontal in free-to-air MPEG-2 via APID 801. MTV Europe has launched a new outlet on 11242 MHz vertical which is encoded in Cryptoworks. WorldNet and the accompanying Voice of America audio streams have left 11422 MHz horizontal. They are however still available via 12485 MHz vertical, SR 8300, FEC 3/4 in clear MPEG-2. Abu Dhabi TV is back with regular programming on 12380 MHz vertical, VPID 3024, APID 3034 in clear MPEG-2. The Israeli bouquet on 11024 MHz vertical which contained Holy Sat. J-Channel, EuroShop and Venus TV appears to have left the frequency. There is a new multiplex on 11747 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, from Dubai. It contains six active streams which are all currently free-to-air. They are EDTV Sport (V4386, A4387), EDTV Drama (V4898, A4899), EDTV Business Channel (V4642, A4643), EDTV1 (V4130, A4131), Dubai Radio 1 (A4099) and Dubai Radio 2 (A4098). The French channel, Canal+ Horizons has launched on 12245 MHz horizontal, VPID 126, APID 136. It is encoded in Viaccess. There is a new Hallmark package for cable headends on 12460 MHz vertical, SR 15000, FEC 3/4 in MPEG-2/PowerVu. It contains Hallmark Russia/Middle East (V2160, A2120 — in English, A2122 — in Russian), Hallmark Central Europe (V2260, A2220 — Polish/Hungarian, A2222 — English/Czech), Hallmark Nordic (V2360, A2320) and Hallmark UK (V2460, A2420). This is an exact copy of the new Hallmark multiplex on Telstar-12 at 15 degrees West, 11534 MHz horizontal, so it is a second hop from the Telstar craft. Babylon Blue is now running a 24-hour service on 12597 MHz vertical in encoded MPEG-2. Previously the channel aired in the evenings only. Paris Premiere has joined the TPS platform on 10873 MHz vertical via PIDs V720, A730 and I Television (I TV) has started here also on PIDs V820, A830. Both channels are encoded in Viaccess. Sicilia International temporarily left 12520 MHz vertical last week but has now returned (see also 1 degree West). Ultra Blue, not surprisingly a new erotic channel, is to launch on February 15 at 12380 MHz vertical where it will stream share with Amore TV. The new channel will air from 1900-0000 nightly.

10 degrees E:
Eutelsat II-F4
A. Turkish channel BTV Europe has commenced test transmissions on 11080 MHz horizontal in clear Pal.

5 degrees E:
Sirius-1/2/3
D. Merlin Network One temporarily left the Merlin Communications multiplex on 12111 MHz horizontal last week but returned after a couple of days. The SIS racing service for UK betting shops has changed Symbol Rate to 8100 on 12330 MHz horizontal.

0.8 degrees/1 degrees W:
Thor 1, 2 & 3 & Intelsat-707
D. The new Bulgarian package on 12169 MHz horizontal contains Evrokom (V512, A640), M Sat (V513, A644) and Diema+ (V514, A648). All of these are currently free-to-air but are likely to encode soon. TVTV!, a new channel from Finland, has launched on an SCPC carrier at 11685 MHz vertical, SR 3616, FEC 3/4, VPID 512, APID 640 in Conax-encoded MPEG-2. As with its Hotbird outlet, Sicilia International has vacated 12340 MHz horizontal. The Slovak Radio first programme, Slovensko One, and Radio Devin have launched on 11540 MHz vertical in free-to-air MPEG-2. On the same frequency, VTV from Bratislava seems to have disappeared again. The channel was plagued by financial problems in the latter half of 1999 and was forced to go off the air for several days.

7 degrees W:
Nilesat-101
D. Ajman TV has opened a new digital outlet via an SCPC carrier at 11999 MHz vertical, SR 2892, FEC 3/4, VPID 100, APID 101 in free-to-air MPEG-2.

12 degrees W:
Eutelsat-II-F2
D. Andalucia TV has joined Canal Sur Andalucia and Canal 2 Andalucia on 12521 MHz horizontal, SR 21593, FEC 1/2, VPID 125, APID 135, in free-to-air MPEG-2.

15 degrees W:
Telstar-12
D. Hallmark Russia/Middle East, Nordic, UK and Central Europe have launched on 11534 MHz horizontal via PIDs V2160/2260, A2120, 2121, 2122/-2220, 2221, 2222 in MPEG-2/PowerVu. This is the first hop feed for the new platform on Hotbird at 13 degrees East. One of the UPC channels, UPC Avante, on 11138 MHz horizontal is running no less than six audio streams on APIDs 111, 112, 115, 116, 117 and 118. At present they are all running the same audio track.

21.3 degrees/21.5 degrees W:
NSS-803 & NSS-K
D. WWF wrestling action from the US for Sky Sports was fed over 11590 MHz vertical, the GlobeCast Channel 2 stream, SR 20150, FEC 3/4 in free-to-air MPEG-2 on January 30 at 0000. 3ABN has still not returned to 12615 MHz vertical, which is used to feed its Hotbird outlet. However, this caption is being displayed on the stream, “3ABN’s signal is temporarily interrupted until we receive final European government authorisation to broadcast on Hotbird 13 degrees. We apologise for the inconvenience”. The same message is shown on 3ABN’s Hotbird frequency.

24.5 degrees W
INTELSAT-603
A. Feed transponder 4166 MHz RHCP carried the Egypt/Senegal soccer match during the evening of January 28 in clear Pal in parallel to the primary feedpoint on Arabsat-2B at 30.5 degrees East.

27.5 degrees W:
Intelsat-605
D. Sony Entertainment TV, which had been using 11665 MHz horizontal for some time, has now left the stream. It has been replaced by colour bars overlaid with “Facility Line”.
A. NTA, Algeria’s state broadcaster, is switching in and out of encryption on 4065 MHz LHCP.

30 degrees W:
Hispasat-1A/B/C
D. Hispasat-1C was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral aboard an Atlas 11AS rocket on February 3 at 2330. Once in its geostationary slot here it will provide high power TV, radio, data and telephone relays to most of Latin America as well as western Europe.

31.5 degrees W:
Intelsat-801
D. A press conference by boxer Mike Tyson was fed over 10952 MHz vertical, SR 5632, FEC 3/4, VPID 308, APID 256 on 26 January at 1150 in clear MPEG-2. The EPG entry was “SKY SPORTS NEWS”. At the same time on 11025 MHz vertical a report on French schools for one of the French networks was being relayed in free-to-air MPEG-2, SR 5632, FEC 3/4, EPG: “8 M/bit 3/4”.

43 degrees W:
PAS-3R & PAS-6
A. Colour bars overlaid with “CNN TORRESPANA” are often present on 12548 MHz vertical in clear NTSC though no feed traffic has been observed here yet. The 6.60 MHz audio subcarrier is fired up with an unmodulated carrier.