Transponder News for Satellite TV on 10 November 2020

AsiaSat 5 100.5° E
Premier League TV appeared on 3860 V DVB-S2/8PSK HEVC/HD 30000 3/4, Director (vopros)

Azerspace 2 / Intelsat 38 45.1° E
TV8 Int Türkiye has appeared on 12560 V DVB-S2/8PSK MPEG-4 30000 5/6, Irdeto VideoGuard (sinand)
TV8 Türkiye left 12560 V (sinand)

Astra 2G 28.2°E
SportyStuff TV tests has appeared on 11538 V DVB-S/MPEG-2 DVB-S/MPEG-4 22000 5/6, Open (vopros)

Hot Bird 13 13° E
Strefa Abonenta info card returned to 10719 V DVB-S2/8PSK HEVC 27500 3/4 (vopros)

Eutelsat 9B 9 ° E
Persidera Network package unlocked on 12265 V, DVB-S2/8PSK (vopros)
Rete A2 package appeared on 12265 V DVB-S2/16APSK MPEG-2 MPEG-4 31400 3/4, Open (vopros)

SES-4 22 ° W
MTV France appeared on 12610 V DVB-S SR 30000 FEC 3/4, MediaGuard (vopros)

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Planned work on the Ka-Sat
Dear subscribers, working through Ka-Sat satellite!
10 November 2020 g. With 00:00 before 03:00 o'clock in the morning Moscow time, will be carried out planned maintenance work on the Ka-Sat network.
During this period, possible break in the provision of telecommunications services for a total of up to 30 minutes.

SpaceX will begin deploying Starlink internet in Canada.
The company has received all necessary approvals from local regulatory authorities.
According to the data, 7 November Office of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) officially allowed SpaceX to connect Canadians to Starlink internet.
Previously, at the end of October, Radio Commission, television and telecommunications (CRTC) issued the company a license for basic international telecommunications services.
Having received these permissions, SpaceX May Begin Beta Testing Starlink Internet In Canada. However,, there are some restrictions - access to the Internet will be possible only there, where there is a signal from Starlink ground stations, located in the USA.

The next package of OneWeb satellites prepared for dispatch to Vostochny
Arianespace and OneWeb complete assembly operations for OneWeb constellation satellite package. The next launch of the Soyuz carrier rocket with 36 satellites OneWeb due in December 2020 years from the Vostochny cosmodrome.
Building a package from 36 satellites were held at the OneWeb satellite manufacturing facility in Florida (United States). In the near future, satellites will be sent to the Russian Vostochny cosmodrome to prepare for launch.
In August it was reported, that the FCC (FCC) allowed OneWeb to increase the satellite constellation to 2 th. spacecraft.
OneWeb should launch the first thousand satellites into orbit before 26 August 2026 year, the rest - before 26 August 2029 year. Now in low earth orbit are 74 spacecraft OneWeb.

“We were the first, who climbed on SpaceX launch vehicles ", - interview with the head of the SES representative office in Ukraine
Global satellite operator SES celebrates 20 years of work in Ukraine. In our country, this company is the absolute leader in the provision of satellite communications services for the largest media groups and independent TV broadcasters., with global coverage over 99%. In an interview, the head of the SES representative office in Ukraine Onno Zonneveld told, where did satellite TV begin in Europe, how a modern SES teleport appeared on the site of the Soviet "jammer" in Kiev and why the satellite signal is more reliable, than cable internet connection.
The total number of working satellites in different Earth orbits today is slightly more than 5700. And in the entire history of space launches, since 1950s, humanity has successfully sent almost 20 thousand satellites.
In 1983, the orbit of our planet was about 1000 working satellites and almost 4000 units of "space debris". It was at that time that the history of SES began - the largest satellite operator in Ukraine and one of the three leaders in this field worldwide..
Entered the Ukrainian market in 2000, Today SES celebrates 20 years of work in Ukraine. During this time, the global satellite operator has become a service provider for the most popular TV companies in Ukraine, built a space communications center in Kiev and launched a satellite, which delivers a direct or indirect signal 99% TV viewers in our country.
We talked to the head of SES in Ukraine Onno Zonneveld and found out, what caused this company to appear in the 1980s, how it has developed over the past decades and what is happening to it now.
Through Luxembourg - to all of Europe
In the early 1980s, the governments of Sweden and Norway decided to create a joint satellite telecommunications system in Scandinavia with a single operator - Nordic Satellite (NSAB). It was this company that became the predecessor of SES in Ukraine.
A few years later, the Scandinavians jointly put their first satellite into orbit., after which NSAB became fully owned by the Swedish company Swedish Space Corporation (SSC), and the Norwegians began to develop their own satellite system.
but, as Onno Sonneveld explains, the key then were not the initiatives of the authorities of Norway and Sweden, and the efforts of politicians of a much smaller state - Luxembourg. Unlike many other Western European states, at that time in Luxembourg the development of commercial television was already allowed at the legislative level, which was used by the management of the largest commercial TV channel in Germany - RTL.
“In 1984, the recently launched RTL TV channel broadcast on the towers, which could propagate a signal within a radius of approximately 300 km. This made it possible to deliver the signal to different cities in Germany, Netherlands, Luxembourg, but, For example, to Paris - no longer. RTL decided, that the ideal solution to this problem would be a satellite ", - begins the history of his company Onno Zonneveld, who worked as a journalist for the Moscow bureau of the Dutch TV channel RTL4.
Thus, the Luxembourg authorities and the RTL leadership, although they did not become the founders of the SES company, but in fact they turned out to be her first large client and customer in 1985 year. For the same reason, the SES headquarters are still located in the Luxembourg commune of Betzdorf - this is where the legal entity of the satellite operator is registered..
“In Ukraine, we were also originally a representative office of a Swedish company, which was subsequently absorbed by the Luxembourg SES, Therefore,, actually, we have two stories ", - explains the head of the SES representative office in Ukraine.
Before SES appeared in our country, many more discoveries awaited this company., including the launch of a huge number of satellites into different Earth orbits from spaceports on three continents and cooperation with the largest television broadcasters in Europe.
Going global
The first companion, which was not only launched by SES, but also became its full-fledged operator, was Astra 1A - Luxembourg's first communications satellite, relay radio- and TV programs in analog and digital formats.
Launched into geostationary orbit a little over 36 th. km above the Earth's surface, Astra 1A transmitted signals of popular TV channels throughout Europe. Thanks to this satellite, Sky Channel was then among the SES clients, Sky News, Sky Movies, Eurosport, TV3, TV1000, the above RTL, MTV Europe and others.
Launching new satellites and buying them from other companies (as, eg, in the case of the Marcopolo satellite 1 or Sirius 1, bought from British broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting), SES became a global satellite operator in a matter of years, providing its services to users in different parts of the world.
“We have grown very quickly thanks to the expansion of our global fleet and coverage, which we could provide to our clients. Taking into account the widespread coverage, such a business can be rapidly scaled up. In addition, our company is very scrupulous in providing quality services, and we are insanely reliable. People usually think, that satellites are not so reliable, like fiber, but in reality the opposite is true. The reliability of our satellites is more 99,95%, and in life the fiber-optic connection is interrupted much more often ", - continues Onno Zonneveld.
With the development of the Internet, SES also started providing data services: satellites of the company in low and medium earth orbits with an altitude of several hundred to several thousand kilometers can transmit data to hard-to-reach places, restore communication in areas of natural disasters and catastrophes, and also provide communication to ships, aircraft, etc.. d.
“We cooperate with the UN, The Red Cross and we can very quickly ensure communication in any hard-to-reach areas and places of natural disasters. The ships, aircraft, oil platforms - all this is our field of activity ", - says Onno Zonneveld, sitting in a cozy office of the Kiev office of SES.
As of today, SES operates 54 satellites of wide coverage in geostationary orbits and 20 high capacity satellites in medium earth orbits. In total, the fleet allows signal coverage 99% territory of the Earth.
According to the latest SES report, satellites of this company provide more than 367 million households worldwide, including: direct coverage to satellite dishes of private users (DTH), household link, who transmit satellite signal through cable operators (DTC), signal transmission for digital terrestrial television (DTT), as well as satellite TV over the Internet protocol (IPTV).
In terms of TV channels, SES's share of the global satellite TV market is 19%, while the company's satellites relay 23% HD 36% UHD TV channels around the world.
“As a global operator, we started in Europe and continue to be at the forefront here. In addition to rebroadcasting TV channels, we also offer satellite signal pick-up services. In addition, we may also be responsible for playback services, insertion of advertising blocks and digitization of TV content, and these are just some of our possibilities ", - explain in SES. “There is an opinion, that satellite business is dying, but this is not true. OTT segment [Internet streaming platforms - ed.] really growing, but linear TV is also developing. Europe has no decline in direct satellite coverage or DTH subscribers, launch of HD and UHD channels is growing ".
According to Onno Zonneveld, OTT is just a complementary segment, and, in spite of everything, Consumption of satellite content grows "among the people". One of the latest achievements of SES is a contract with the largest British broadcaster - BBC. Since July 2020, the satellite operator began to provide playback and IP distribution services for more than 50 BBC Studios channels under a multi-year contract.
SES clients include the most popular broadcasters, Tv channels, enterprises, as well as government organizations from more than 130 countries of the world. Their logos and names, like orders on the ceremonial jacket of the astronaut, proudly located in the corporate presentation of the head of the representative office.
“We were the first, who climbed on SpaceX launch vehicles. Such a big operator, like us, can reserve its satellites to maintain constant communication with them. It is important, and this adds reliability. Our satellites can cover a very large area in no time, what will be expensive for fiber, Maybe, and impossible ", - says Onno.
SES in Ukraine
Since today the majority of users in Ukraine do not belong to the O3b category (OTHER 3 billion) and have access to fiber optic and mobile networks, the main business of SES in our country now is satellite television and retransmission of the signal of TV channels. Although at the beginning of its activities in Ukraine 20 years ago, this operator also provided people with satellite Internet.
“The first SES client companies in Ukraine were Novy Kanal and Inter, as well as many of the largest Internet providers at that time, including Lucky Net and Adamant. In 2001 year, we began cooperation with the RRT Concern on raising the signal of Ukrainian TV channels to the satellite ", - says Onno Zonneveld, Head of SES Astra AB Representative Office in Ukraine and CIS countries, - this is his official position.
20 years ago for delivering the signal of Ukrainian TV channels to the Sirius geostationary satellite 2 answered a temporary transmitting satellite station with a 3.7-meter antenna, installed in the town of Kalinovka, Kiev region. Already in the spring 2002 the temporary station was replaced with a new fixed satellite installation with a 6-meter antenna, which is located in the same place in Kalinovka.
“First, in Ukraine, we ordered the service of raising the signal into orbit from the station in Kalinovka. But over time we started to grow and realized, that in order to offer the highest quality service to our customers, we must have complete control of the process. Therefore, we built our own teleport center for space communications in the Podolsk district of Kiev, where there was an old Soviet TV tower - "jammer", - says Sonneveld already about his direct competence.
With 2008 the new Kiev teleport with its three six-meter satellite dishes, servers, multiplexers and other equipment began to transmit a signal to the Astra 4A satellite, launched at the end of 2007 from the Baikonur cosmodrome on the Proton-M launch vehicle.
Launched into a geostationary orbit position at five degrees east longitude, this satellite has become extremely popular in Ukraine and other CIS countries: direct and indirect signal Astra 4A covers 99% Ukrainian TV viewers and covers every square meter of the country's territory.
“Now three of the four largest media groups in Ukraine broadcast through us. We rebroadcast the satellite TV signal of the Inter TV channel group, Ukraine, 1+1, Viasat Ukraine, digital TV T2 from Zeonbud. In addition, we have 89 contracts with smaller TV channels, eg, 112, Espreso TV, The sun, COUNTRY HOUSE, 36,6 and others", - explains Onno Sonneveld.
The network of ground stations also plays a huge role in providing quality services of this company., which are closely related to each other. SES is the only satellite operator in Ukraine, which has an office with full-time specialists, responsible for customer support 24/7. Zonneveld guarantees: in case of any malfunctions or failures of the ground station - the company instantly solves the problem.
“Our ground teleports are interconnected by fiber-optic communication. And if something happens to the station in Kiev, we will be able to very quickly overtake the signal to Stockholm, Munich, Israel or Luxembourg, to raise the signal from there ", - says the SES representative in Ukraine.
Worth considering, that the basis for the stable work of SES in Ukraine was the extremely successful launch of the Astra 4A satellite: the device entered geostationary orbit at about 600 meters from the designated position, - such accuracy at launch made it possible to practically not waste satellite fuel and extend its service life.
“GEO satellites are guaranteed to live 15 years, but in reality, their service life is determined by several factors, including fuel availability. The latest forecast for the flagship satellite for Ukraine Astra 4A says, that it should work at least until 2031 year. We monitor its status, availability of fuel and usually five years before the predicted "death" we begin the design of a new satellite, to replace it three years before the end of operation ", - says the SES manager.
Closer to the mid-2030s satellite Astra 4A, providing a signal to millions of Ukrainian users, will go to the so-called "satellite cemetery": using residual fuel, SES engineers will raise this satellite several hundred kilometers above its geostationary orbit. And in its place at this time a new satellite will already work.
By the way, about plans: as early as next year Falcon launch vehicles 9 SpaceX must deliver new medium-orbit and geostationary SES satellites into space. One of them is the SES-17 high-capacity geostationary satellite., which will ascend to the desired orbit and will correct its trajectory solely on electric traction.
“Now satellites are becoming more flexible in their installation and configuration., consume less fuel and can be started cheaper. We continue to invest in new technologies, we provide constant monitoring and backup of our satellites. Therefore, we are very reliable, which is the key to our future success ", - summarizes Onno Zonneveld.