International News 10th September 2003

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Live TV on internet with FastWeb

FastWeb, Italy's biggest alternative broadband provider, has launched the world's first live television service over a high-speed internet connection, the FT reported. The operator aims to cash in on the service by showing live Italian football league matches as well as giving access to the main terrestrial and satellite TV channels.

Customers in Rome, Naples and Genoa can view the channels through their TV sets and also use the ADSL connection for telephone calls and internet access.

ADSL has been so far confined to video-on-demand services offering movies and recorded programmes. FastWeb is using Marconi's Multi-Service Access Node (MSAN) to deliver the service, in a boost for the British company. Marconi's Genoa division developed the hub and Italy is the company's second-biggest market outside the UK.


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Opera challenges Microsoft in STB

Opera Software is challenging Microsoft in another business area: set-top boxes. By combining Opera and Linux, STBs at one-third of Microsofts' $300 price are now within reach for the residential market, claims the company.

Moving from Microsoft to Opera-enabled Linux STBs based on open standards will save the iTV industry's operators hundreds of millions of dollars, providing improvements and saved costs in all parts of the value chain, says Opera.

In STBs Opera functions as a Web browser and as an HTML presentation engine that executes the majority of navigational functions and renders content. Operators' content can be produced in HTML.


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US Hispanic $3bn media merger approved

The Federal Communications Commission has decided to approve the $3 billion merger of Univision and Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation, according to an FCC official.

The merger allows Univision to expand into the Spanish-language radio market. In allowing the merger of the two Hispanic broadcasters to proceed, the FCC decided against treating Spanish-language media as a separate media market.

The decision to approve the transaction represents a victory for Michael Powell, the FCC chairman. But the 3-2 vote along party lines underscores the rift between Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps - the two FCC Democrat commissioners - over issues of media concentration and diversity. The Democrats are concerned that treating Spanish and English media in the same way is not in the public interest for the nation's 37 million Hispanics.

Univision reportedly said that the merger was necessary to compete for advertising dollars with larger media giants. "This merger will effectively provide the size and scope to compete against English language media conglomerates," said a company spokesperson. "[Currently] 60 per cent of advertisers don't advertise in Spanish. We will be able to attract new advertisers, which will ultimately help Spanish language media."

The Department of Justice approved the deal earlier this year, on the condition that Univision reduce its ownership of Entravision Communications to less than 10 per cent over six years.


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3G on 2G worries 3

The UK's 3G network operator, Hutchison 3G has reportedly started blocking SIM swapping on its network. According to a report in Dow Jones Newswires, subscribers to the 3G network have been taking their SIM cards out of their 3G handsets and putting them into 2G handsets. The rationale for the move is that the 2G handsets tend to be lighter and have a longer battery life than the 3G phones being sold by Hutchison 3G - although they naturally lack the video calling options offered by the 3G phones.

The problem for the network is that all calls from the 2G handsets will be routed over the GSM network of its roaming partner, O2 and the costs would be higher than routing the call over the 3G infrastructure.

A Hutchison 3G spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires that it is monitoring their subscribers usage and if they were found to be swapping their SIMs into 2G handsets then special software would be transmitted into their SIM card to prevent it working except in a 3G phone.


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Comcast promises double net speed by year-end

Comcast Corp, the largest cable operator in the US, said it planned to double the downloading capability of its high-speed Internet service by the end of this year to distinguish its product from competitors.

"Our job No 1 is increasing speed - increasing from 1.5 megabits per second downstream to 3 megabits per second downstream," said Steve Burke, president of Comcast's cable division.

Although the service nearly halves the time it takes to download web pages, video and audio, uploading, or the ability to send data, will remain the same at 256 kilobits per second.

Comcast is hoping to lure more new and existing subscribers to its high-speed Internet service by ramping up speeds. As part of the these plans, it is also building a Web site that offers video games, video clips and eventually, the ability to communicate via video with other members.


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Orca and HP in ITV market

Orca Interactive have partnered with HP to jointly market an open architecture, industry-standard-based solution enabling video-on-demand and broadcast over IP networks.

As part of this agreement, Orca will port its RiGHTv platform to HP-UX and will be a key component in HP's IPTV solution. Orca's RiGHTv platform is also Windows compatible, making Orca a first-rate match for HP and its TV over IP initiatives. HP offers customers a broad portfolio of solutions for video-over-IP, based on open standards and end-to-end manageability.


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Intelsat and TVNZ Satellite in new alliance

US-based Intelsat Global and TVNZ Satellite Services Ltd will join forces in the occasional use broadcast services business. This alliance is designed to allow the companies to offer a global network of satellite and terrestrial infrastructure, complemented by a portfolio of television broadcast and enterprise services. Upon final completion of the agreement, the alliance between Intelsat and TVNZ will create a unique combination, under one umbrella, of occasional use satellite provider and television broadcaster, the companies said.

Specifically, the portfolio of services will offer customers comprehensive choice in global occasional use satellite distribution, as well as access to television production and packaging services. Event management, host broadcast services and on air enhancement products are examples of the expanded range of offerings.


----------------------------------------------------------------------China Gov: HK$73m for 3G development

Datang Telecom, one of China's biggest telecom vendors, has said the Chinese government will invest HK$73million (E8.4 million) in 2003 to help domestic firms in the research & development of the 3G standard known as TD-SCDMA, the local press reported.

TD-SCDMA is a Chinese home-grown 3G mobile technology developed mainly by Datang and Siemens. More aid would be given if the 3G standard proved its functionality, a spokesman from Datang Telecom said. Currently TD-SCDMA suffers from drop calls in fast-moving cars and handover problems between radio cells.

The government revealed it would only back domestic vendors, those including Huawei Technologies, ZTE and Legend Group.

This is a sign that the government is serious about launching TD-SCDMA in China as the government tries to stop western firms from swamping the huge Chinese mobile market, which has more mobile users than any other countries. At present Chinese mobile operators are forced to use western mobile standards such as CDMA and GSM because no domestic developed standards exist.

The Chinese government is planning to issue 3G licences in the second half of 2004 through a combination of auction and beauty pageant. In 2002, the technology was allocated 155MHz spectrum in China.


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Shaw to pay CA$90m for Monarch subscribers

Shaw Communications, Canada's second-largest cable-TV company, is paying CA$90million (E60 million) to Monarch Cablesystems Ltd for cable-TV operations serving 35,000 subscribers in Alberta and southeastern British Columbia.

The transaction, subject to approval by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, covers systems in Medicine Hat, Taber, Brooks, Canmore, Banff and Lake Louise in Alberta, and Hope, Fernie and Kimberley in BC.


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Pick and pay

The digital TV viewer is now able to subscribe to pay-TV from the remote. Two Finnish companies Ð Ortikon Interactive Ltd and Data Prism Ltd - have developed a complete system, which comprises solutions for the customer to subscribe and pay for the channels and for the operator to manage, market and bill them. The system can be used by all operators utilising MHP and provide their customers with services via digital TV.

The companies say it only takes a few minutes to subscribe and receive the program on the screen. The viewer selects available channels on the screen, browses, chooses and subscribes. In the operator-end the system receives the order and asks the client to make an e-payment. The system registers the payment automatically and opens the subscribed program on the viewer's screen.