techboss
February 8th, 2001, 04:40 PM
Some info that might get some interested people in testing the new Canadian Satellite product: Shaw Satellite!
News below
---
Shaw's Satellite Dreams Highlight Canada's Changing
Telecommunications Scene
By James Careless
Multichannel News International
2/1/01
It seems owning Canada's second-largest cable operator, a direct-to-home
satellite-TV service, and a slew of television channels and radio stations isn't
enough for Calgary's enterprising Shaw family. Now they want their own spacecraft,
and it looks like they're going to get it.
MSO Shaw Communications has won the Canadian government's permission to
launch its own Ka-band satellite. Allocated to 107.3 degrees west orbit, Shaw's
satellite will deliver 300 kilobits per second to 500 kbps, two-way Internet access
across Canada and the continental United States. The bird should also
compliment Shaw's other businesses, which include DTH service Star Choice,
broadband ISP Shaw@Home, satellite-service provider Cancom, national fiber
optic network Big Pipe, and TV and radio programmer Corus Entertainment.
"Our primary focus will be Star Choice residential customers seeking two-way
broadband-Internet access," says Michael D'Avella, Shaw's vice president of
planning. "However, our orbital slot will cover both Canada and the continental
United States."
When "Shaw-1" launches, it will be not only Canada's first MSO-owned satellite,
but it also will crack telco Bell Canada Enterprises' monopoly on satellite services
in the Great White North. Currently, all birds serving the country are owned by
BCE's Telesat Canada. That includes those transmitting Shaw's Star Choice DTH
service.
It's not rocket science that Shaw would prefer not to rely on the services of BCE,
which also owns DTH service Bell ExpressVu. The tension peaked recently when
Telesat Canada said it would pull four of the transponders Shaw is leasing on the
Anik F1 satellite and allot them to Canadian broadcasters. (Although it's in orbit,
Anik F1 is only scheduled to begin operating sometime this month. Telesat
Canada has the contractual leeway to resell the transponders allocated to Shaw
until the bird goes live.)
Another troubling element for Shaw: one of the new tenants of those transponders
is NetStar Communications, which was recently acquired by BCE and owns pay TV
channels that compete with those of Shaw's Corus.
Coincidence or not, the resale means Star Choice will only be able to offer 189
digitally compressed channels, as opposed to the 220 channels it had hoped to
transmit.
Shaw's DTH service filed complaints with the Canadian Radio-Television and
Telecommunications Commission, the country's broadcast regulator, arguing that
this "clawback", although legal, will give BCE a total of 35 Ku-band transponders
on Anik F1 and another bird, Nimiq, Bell ExpressVu's dedicated DTH satellite. "This
stark difference in overall satellite capacity available to Bell ExpressVu and Star
Choice would exist for Anik F1's entire projected life of 15 years," Star Choice
wrote in its November filing to the CRTC.
Telesat Canada says Star Choice can always lease back transponder space from
existing Anik F1 clients like NetStar, Alliance Atlantis, or Chum. What's more, when
Anik F2 is launched in 2003, Star Choice will have the chance to lease anywhere
from nine to 19 more transponders, Telesat wrote in its own December CRTC
filing. This will allow StarChoice to "leapfrog ExpressVu in terms of available
capacity."
The dispute is under consideration by the CRTC, which is expected to rule on it
shortly.
Whatever the CRTC decides, the incident highlights Star Choice's vulnerability to
BCE's whims. It also underscores how competition is changing the face of the
Canadian telecommunications market.
Prior to industry deregulation, Canadian MSOs and telcos acted as monopolies
that kept off of each other's turf. Shaw sold cable TV, while Bell Canada sold
phone service, and everyone was happy.
That's no longer the case, and today, both industries are aggressively attacking
each other, while at the same time trying to fend off each other's invasions.
In this battle, Shaw and BCE stand out the most. Due to their power and ambition,
both companies have become their respective sectors' standard bearers. And it's
all become more confusing as cable and telephone companies, expanding their
offerings, begin to appear increasingly similar.
Shaw and BCE both own broadcast-TV stations, DTH services and high-speed
Internet services. BCE also has plans to build its own Ka-band satellite, which will
go head-to-head with Shaw's bird.
"There are certainly a lot of similarities that you can draw in terms of what's there
and the potential that they have going forward," says Mark Quigley, associate
director of research with The Yankee Group in Canada. "I also think, from Shaw's
point of view, the similarities with Bell get even closer when you start to realize
that at some point in time—perhaps in the next six to 12 months—there will be
trials of voice-over-cable."
In this shifting environment, Shaw has yet to choose a digital design or begin
construction of its Ka-band bird. The satellite would cost anywhere from $300
million to $500 million, a hefty price for any Canadian firm, particularly amid tight
capital markets. Shaw is seeking U.S. partners to help foot the bill.
"Although we have coverage in the United States, our goal is not to become a U.S.
player," D'Avella explains. "Instead, we're looking for a U.S. partner or partners to
help us with the financing and construction of our Ka-band satellite, and to help
develop earth-terminal equipment for subscribers as well."
According to D'Avella, the 107.3-degrees slot "is a great position in the orbital
arc," an attribute that could attract U.S. investors. At the same time, equity
partners would have a major voice in how the bird is designed and how it
functions.
"All the U.S. [DTH] players like Echostar Communications and DirecTV are looking
to provide their own Ka-band broadband services," D'Avella says. "As a result,
they'll be looking for partners like us, who can give them the capacity they need."
How far any search goes remains to be seen. What's more, Shaw already has a
number of works in progress. It's spending heavily to upgrade its cable networks,
extending its presence in fiber optic trunking, and acquiring other cable operators
and programmers. If Shaw doesn't attract some big U.S. backers, there's a chance
its satellite dreams could die on the drawing board.
Some industry experts figure Shaw can pull it off, even amidst its busy and
expensive agenda.
"I would say yes," The Yankee Group's Quigley says of Shaw's celestial ambitions.
"The fact that they were one of the first North American companies, along with
[Canadian MSO] Rogers Cable, to embrace two-way Internet service as the key to
future revenues is indicative of that."
Another nod comes from Debbie Lawes, associate publisher of Ottawa Decima
Publishing, which publishes the authoritative Canadian Communications Reports
newsletter. "I think if any Canadian-owned company can provide a competitive
alternative to Telesat Canada in the satellite business, it would be Shaw," Lawes
says. "They have the capital. They have the know-how. There's no reason why
they can not do it."
News below
---
Shaw's Satellite Dreams Highlight Canada's Changing
Telecommunications Scene
By James Careless
Multichannel News International
2/1/01
It seems owning Canada's second-largest cable operator, a direct-to-home
satellite-TV service, and a slew of television channels and radio stations isn't
enough for Calgary's enterprising Shaw family. Now they want their own spacecraft,
and it looks like they're going to get it.
MSO Shaw Communications has won the Canadian government's permission to
launch its own Ka-band satellite. Allocated to 107.3 degrees west orbit, Shaw's
satellite will deliver 300 kilobits per second to 500 kbps, two-way Internet access
across Canada and the continental United States. The bird should also
compliment Shaw's other businesses, which include DTH service Star Choice,
broadband ISP Shaw@Home, satellite-service provider Cancom, national fiber
optic network Big Pipe, and TV and radio programmer Corus Entertainment.
"Our primary focus will be Star Choice residential customers seeking two-way
broadband-Internet access," says Michael D'Avella, Shaw's vice president of
planning. "However, our orbital slot will cover both Canada and the continental
United States."
When "Shaw-1" launches, it will be not only Canada's first MSO-owned satellite,
but it also will crack telco Bell Canada Enterprises' monopoly on satellite services
in the Great White North. Currently, all birds serving the country are owned by
BCE's Telesat Canada. That includes those transmitting Shaw's Star Choice DTH
service.
It's not rocket science that Shaw would prefer not to rely on the services of BCE,
which also owns DTH service Bell ExpressVu. The tension peaked recently when
Telesat Canada said it would pull four of the transponders Shaw is leasing on the
Anik F1 satellite and allot them to Canadian broadcasters. (Although it's in orbit,
Anik F1 is only scheduled to begin operating sometime this month. Telesat
Canada has the contractual leeway to resell the transponders allocated to Shaw
until the bird goes live.)
Another troubling element for Shaw: one of the new tenants of those transponders
is NetStar Communications, which was recently acquired by BCE and owns pay TV
channels that compete with those of Shaw's Corus.
Coincidence or not, the resale means Star Choice will only be able to offer 189
digitally compressed channels, as opposed to the 220 channels it had hoped to
transmit.
Shaw's DTH service filed complaints with the Canadian Radio-Television and
Telecommunications Commission, the country's broadcast regulator, arguing that
this "clawback", although legal, will give BCE a total of 35 Ku-band transponders
on Anik F1 and another bird, Nimiq, Bell ExpressVu's dedicated DTH satellite. "This
stark difference in overall satellite capacity available to Bell ExpressVu and Star
Choice would exist for Anik F1's entire projected life of 15 years," Star Choice
wrote in its November filing to the CRTC.
Telesat Canada says Star Choice can always lease back transponder space from
existing Anik F1 clients like NetStar, Alliance Atlantis, or Chum. What's more, when
Anik F2 is launched in 2003, Star Choice will have the chance to lease anywhere
from nine to 19 more transponders, Telesat wrote in its own December CRTC
filing. This will allow StarChoice to "leapfrog ExpressVu in terms of available
capacity."
The dispute is under consideration by the CRTC, which is expected to rule on it
shortly.
Whatever the CRTC decides, the incident highlights Star Choice's vulnerability to
BCE's whims. It also underscores how competition is changing the face of the
Canadian telecommunications market.
Prior to industry deregulation, Canadian MSOs and telcos acted as monopolies
that kept off of each other's turf. Shaw sold cable TV, while Bell Canada sold
phone service, and everyone was happy.
That's no longer the case, and today, both industries are aggressively attacking
each other, while at the same time trying to fend off each other's invasions.
In this battle, Shaw and BCE stand out the most. Due to their power and ambition,
both companies have become their respective sectors' standard bearers. And it's
all become more confusing as cable and telephone companies, expanding their
offerings, begin to appear increasingly similar.
Shaw and BCE both own broadcast-TV stations, DTH services and high-speed
Internet services. BCE also has plans to build its own Ka-band satellite, which will
go head-to-head with Shaw's bird.
"There are certainly a lot of similarities that you can draw in terms of what's there
and the potential that they have going forward," says Mark Quigley, associate
director of research with The Yankee Group in Canada. "I also think, from Shaw's
point of view, the similarities with Bell get even closer when you start to realize
that at some point in time—perhaps in the next six to 12 months—there will be
trials of voice-over-cable."
In this shifting environment, Shaw has yet to choose a digital design or begin
construction of its Ka-band bird. The satellite would cost anywhere from $300
million to $500 million, a hefty price for any Canadian firm, particularly amid tight
capital markets. Shaw is seeking U.S. partners to help foot the bill.
"Although we have coverage in the United States, our goal is not to become a U.S.
player," D'Avella explains. "Instead, we're looking for a U.S. partner or partners to
help us with the financing and construction of our Ka-band satellite, and to help
develop earth-terminal equipment for subscribers as well."
According to D'Avella, the 107.3-degrees slot "is a great position in the orbital
arc," an attribute that could attract U.S. investors. At the same time, equity
partners would have a major voice in how the bird is designed and how it
functions.
"All the U.S. [DTH] players like Echostar Communications and DirecTV are looking
to provide their own Ka-band broadband services," D'Avella says. "As a result,
they'll be looking for partners like us, who can give them the capacity they need."
How far any search goes remains to be seen. What's more, Shaw already has a
number of works in progress. It's spending heavily to upgrade its cable networks,
extending its presence in fiber optic trunking, and acquiring other cable operators
and programmers. If Shaw doesn't attract some big U.S. backers, there's a chance
its satellite dreams could die on the drawing board.
Some industry experts figure Shaw can pull it off, even amidst its busy and
expensive agenda.
"I would say yes," The Yankee Group's Quigley says of Shaw's celestial ambitions.
"The fact that they were one of the first North American companies, along with
[Canadian MSO] Rogers Cable, to embrace two-way Internet service as the key to
future revenues is indicative of that."
Another nod comes from Debbie Lawes, associate publisher of Ottawa Decima
Publishing, which publishes the authoritative Canadian Communications Reports
newsletter. "I think if any Canadian-owned company can provide a competitive
alternative to Telesat Canada in the satellite business, it would be Shaw," Lawes
says. "They have the capital. They have the know-how. There's no reason why
they can not do it."