(30 June 2009 9:40 pm)

MUMBAI: Europe-based satellite operator Eutelsat Communications has launched Fransat to provide satellite access to all French free DTT (Digital Terrestrial Television) channels in France.

The new satellite service facilitates switch to digital for homes beyond terrestrial DTT reception and enables 1.5 million homes receiving French analogue TV via Atlantic Bird3 to access free DTT channels with no change to their dish.

Fransat offers access to France's 18 free DTT channels, plus France O and the four HD channels that include TF1 HD, France 2 HD, M6 HD and ARTE HD.

Eutelsat Communications chairman and CEO Giuliano Berretta said, "The launch of Fransat on our Atlantic Bird3 satellite underscores Eutelsat's objective to support the seamless transition of broadcasting in France into a fully digital environment, as mapped out in the government's 'Digital France 2012' plan."

The plan expressed the ambition for a solution to switch to digital for the significant number of satellite homes already receiving analogue TV in areas not served terrestrially.

To receive Fransat, consumers need to buy a labelled pack comprising a decoder and a Fransat conditional-access smartcard.

The new service principally addresses the 10-15 per cent of TV homes in metropolitan France which will be unable to receive terrestrial DTT or who will have poor reception with the definitive switch-off of terrestrial analogue broadcasting, scheduled on 30 November, 2011.