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| Indiantelevision.com's TV Technology Update |
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| Panamsat & JSat jointly launch
advance video, data & high-definition satellite |
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| Indiantelevision.com
Team |
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| (2 October
2003 6:00 pm) |
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PanAmSat Corporation and Japan's JSAT Corporation
announced that the Galaxy XIII/Horizons-1 satellite was successfully
launched into orbit at 4:03 a.m. GMT on 1 October, 2003.
Propelled into space by Sea Launch, the launch marks a major milestone
in the growing strategic partnership between the two companies. The
Galaxy XIII/Horizons-1 spacecraft will be located at 127 degrees west
longitude, a key orbital position in the U.S. cable arc. As part of
its additional three-satellite, half-a-billion dollar commitment,
PanAmSat announced that it is expanding its High-Definition Television
(HDTV) offerings by developing the first HDTV neighborhood on the
new satellite.
The power levels and coverage patterns of the newly available Ku-band
capacity make Galaxy XIII/Horizons-1 extremely valuable for both video,
Internet and Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) services. "Today's
events also mark a great opportunity for JSAT to offer its customers
new distribution avenues for their digital product," said JSAT's
President and CEO Kiyoshi Isozaki. "Galaxy XIII/Horizons-1 is
the product of PanAmSat and JSAT's insistence on quality from design-to-finish
for a 15-plus-year mission. By partnering with PanAmSat, we are able
to expand our reach into a vibrant marketplace."
The 4090-kilogram Galaxy XIII/Horizons-1, a Boeing 601HP, has 24 C-band
and 24 Ku-band transponders covering the continental United States,
Alaska and Hawaii. It is the final satellite in a six-satellite procurement
contract with Boeing Satellite Systems that began in 1998. The spacecraft
will take over for Galaxy IX, which will migrate to 74 degrees west
longitude and become the new Galaxy replacement or in-orbit spare.
As the cornerstone for the first U.S. HD neighborhood as well as a
new cable neighborhood for video services, Galaxy XIII/Horizons-1's
C-band platform will be part of the "Power of Five" antenna
program, which provides qualified cable operators with simultaneous
access to five Galaxy neighborhood satellites that deliver television
programming to over 11,000 cable headends in the U.S. Wright continued,
"We have already pioneered the HDTV format with such customers
as Disney/ESPN and NHK. Forty-one million homes are expected to have
High-Definition access in five years and we will be there with them,
providing the biggest names in cable television and the most powerful
and reliable satellite transmission available. When combined with
our existing video transmission service to cable companies, it has
no equal. It is the future for video in the U.S." The satellite's
roster of customers already includes: Charter Communications, E!,
Gospel Music TV, HBO, HD Net, Starz Encore and Turner.
PanAmSat has made an additional half-a-billion dollar investment in
three "HD-ready" satellites that will be deployed through
2005. In addition to Galaxy XIII/Horizons-1, Galaxy VR and Galaxy
IRR are PanAmSat's next-generation cable neighborhood satellites that
have the necessary power to deliver HD programming. They will join
Galaxy XI, Galaxy IIIC, Galaxy XR and Galaxy IV in offering HD services.
Galaxy XIII/Horizons-1 will operate under dual licenses, with the
C-band payload licensed through the Federal Communications Commission
in the U.S., and the Ku-band licensed through Japan's Ministry of
Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications. The
satellite will be linked to the Asia Pacific region through the PanAmSat
teleport in Napa, California to PanAmSat's Pacific Ocean Region satellites
and through JSAT's Hawaii teleport to JSAT's fleet of satellites.
PanAmSat and JSAT will jointly develop and own the Galaxy XIII/Horizons-1
Ku-band payload, using the capacity to offer a variety of digital
video, Internet and data services as well as to create new IP-based
content distribution networks. PanAmSat will own, develop and market
the C-band capacity separately as part of the company's Galaxy cable
neighborhood.
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