While China Satellite Communications Corp. (CASC) is planning to use capacity on its satellites to support a new DTH service in China, which could launch this year, CASC Vice President Huang Baozhong told Via Satellite that the Chinese operator ultimately plans to compete internationally with the world’s largest satellite operators.
    CASC will have a strong chance to make an international impact on the operator market if it can capitalize on its domestic services. The Chinese market is certainly a formidable challenge. According to official statistics in China, there are 378 million TV households and analog TV sets are no longer being sold to consumers. Baozhong said that 40 million households are now able to access Chinasat-9, which illustrates a market eagerly awaiting DTH services.
    Baozhong discussed how CASC is looking to bring all the benefits of satellite technology to China’s vast population while remaining committed to growth beyond the country’s borders.

Via Satellite: How is CASC’s proposed nationwide DTH service developing?

Baozhong: I think we have a good chance to launch these services this year. We also expect there will be a number of HD channels on the DTH service when it launches in China. We might see a 3-D-TV trial in China over the next year, but the main drivers for the DTH service will be HDTV. After the launch of the Chinasat-6A (Sinosat-6) satellite, there will be 20 more HD channels available. This will consume around 10 more transponders. We have already prepared the hardware and the software ahead of the launch of DTH services. It is hard to say when it will actually be a nationwide platform. I think it is now only a question of timing in terms of the new DTH platform.

Via Satellite: Will CASC need to accelerate its plans for capacity to meet these demands, especially considering the growing Chinese market for HD?

Baozhong: We will meet this demand by launching new satellites. We have six satellites under construction, of which three are replacement satellites. There are another three satellites in Ku- and C-band already planned. We will also launch S- and L-band satellites, which will help broadcast coverage in remote areas in China. We have the Sinosat-6 satellite, which will be launched in September. We also have the Chinasat-10 (Sinosat-5) satellite, which will be launched next year. We have two further satellites which will launch in 2012, Apstar-7 and Chinasat-9A (Sinosat-4). Chinasat-9A (Sinosat-4) is already an integrated satellite currently in storage. We then have Chinasat-12, and then we have the Apstar-7B satellite. We have S-band, L-band and Ka-band satellites at the planning stage.

Via Satellite: How is CASC looking to build off of the launch of this new DTH service?

Baozhong: The preparation to launch DTH services is underway. We have seen a big increase in revenues and we now see space segment as our core business. We are also doing work in the space and navigation part of the business. We are seeing stronger revenues from the company coming from broadcasting and we have a number of new satellites planned for launch. We already have six new satellites contracted, and three other satellites on the drawing board. By around 2015, we will have around 15 satellites on our fleet.

Via Satellite: Is this build-up solely dedicated to China, or do you have international aspirations?

Baozhong: The satellite industry is seeing more Chinese telecoms and oil and gas companies looking to make an impact internationally and we will do the same over the next few years. We will still focus on Asia-Pacific, however, this is, potentially, a great opportunity for us. We want to try and enter into the international arena and compete with the likes of SES and Eutelsat. But we also hope to have more cooperation with these types of players also. We are very open to partnerships going forward. We expect to form deeper partnerships with international operators.