Jampro Antennas completed a multichannel UHF TV slot antenna for Independent Phoenix TV station KTVK, the firm said. The antenna will serve KTVK channels 38,48 and 42.
DirecTV said EchoStar’s proposed operations at 77 degrees W won’t trouble its Canadian-authorized satellite at 72.5 degrees W -- just 4.5 degrees away, instead of the traditional 9 degrees -- because neither DBS satellite can operate simultaneously on all 32 channels. Also, EchoStar 4’s beam would be focused on Mexico, not the U.S., DirecTV said. DirecTV staunchly opposes ’tweener orbital spacing; however, given the “unique circumstances,” the firm said, it “may be possible to reach a short-term accommodation within the coverage and frequency constraints of these 2 particular satellites.” If a sharing agreement can be reached, DirecTV said, it wouldn’t object to EchoStar’s use of 77 degrees W. But DirecTV said an agreement on 77 degrees W shouldn’t be interpreted as resolving DirecTV’s “more general long-term concerns underlying the issue of DBS slots separated by only 4.5 degrees.” According to a 2004 SEC filing, 38 of 44 transponders onboard EchoStar 4 have failed, leaving 6 useful. According to a 2005 SEC filing, DirecTV operates DirecTV 5 at 72.5 degrees using 16 frequencies.
SBC significantly outspent cable TV interests in Tex. on its way to winning passage of controversial legislation that would allow SBC, Verizon and other competitors obtain a state-wide franchise as they seek to offer video in the state, according to a study. The legislation was still hung up in the office of Gov. Rick Perry (R) Fri. Texans for Public Justice, a watchdog group based in Austin, said lobbying records for the state show SBC to be “Austin’s leading lobby force by far” outspending cable operators who oppose the bill. “Its army of 123 lobbyists -- who reported up to $6.8 million in SBC fees -- gave this giant well over twice the lobby clout of runner-up TXU,” the group said in a report: “Verizon, the next-largest beneficiary of the new telecommunications bill, paid 38 lobbyists another $1.8 million. As such, SBC and Verizon lobbyists outnumbered the 150-member Texas House.” The report continued: “This phalanx left the leading force opposing this handout in the dust. The Texas Cable and Telecommunications Assn. paid 11 lobbyists up to $685,000. Time Warner Cable paid 14 lobbyists $505,000.” Other significant cable spenders included Cox, which spent as much as $275,000 on 6 contracts with lobbyists. Comcast tossed in $50,000 on lobbying in the state. An SBC spokesman said: “We are happy to represent the best interests of the citizens of Tex. anxious for choice in video providers.”
The Walt Disney Co. 3rd-quarter net income increased 41% to $851 million due to revenue surges at its ESPN cable sports channel and ABC broadcast network. Revenue rose 3% to $7.7 billion and operating income rose 23% to $1.4 billion. Cable networks operating income grew 38% to $729 million due to higher affiliate revenue at ESPN, which resulted from increase in contractual rates and subscriber growth, the company said. Operating income in the broadcasting segment increased by $125 million to $269 million due to improved performance at the ABC TV Network, partially offset by higher spending in TV production as more pilots were produced, the company said. ABC’s growth was due to lower prime-time programming costs, higher ad rates and improved ratings from shows such as Desperate Housewives and Lost.
DirecTV swung to a $162 million 2nd-quarter profit from a $13 million net loss despite “unacceptably high” churn caused by addition of high credit risk customers the past year, CEO Chase Carey told analysts in an earnings conference call Thurs. Revenue increased 21% to $3.19 billion.
Most state policies aimed at speeding broadband growth are “ineffective,” a new study said. Scott Wallsten, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute- Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies, said universal service mechanisms and programs targeted at underserved areas don’t boost broadband penetration. Such programs “may even slow it… by giving an artificial advantage to one type of provider over another,” Wallsten said in the study, released Fri. Tax incentives “appear to have no impact,” and neither do laws restricting deployment of broadband by municipalities, the study said. But some policies, such as encouraging access to public rights-of-way for broadband providers, seem to help broadband penetration, Wallsten said. He said unbundling regulations “negatively correlated with penetration,” while increases in resold lines had a positive effect. Some programs targeting rural access may work, the study said. Subsidies by USDA’s Rural Development broadband program didn’t correlate with increased rural access to broadband, but those by USDA’s broader telecom program did -- “though the analysis suggests that it is probably not a cost effective way to increase broadband access.” In a Thurs. Wall St. Journal op-ed articles, FCC Chmn. Martin said his highest priority as chairman is “creating a policy environment that speeds the deployment of broadband throughout the U.S.” He said the FCC’s latest broadband deployment report (CD July 8 p8) offers “encouraging news” that the U.S. leads in the total number of broadband connections with 38 million subscribers “and we are signing up new subscribers at an incredible rate.” Martin said an Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) chart ranking the U.S. 12th in subscribers per 100 residents doesn’t tell the whole story: “Our OECD ranking does not match the reality. For example, in terms of size, the U.S. has more than twice the population of the other countries ahead of it… And no other country has as many urban areas or as many remote and widely-dispersed rural areas spanning huge distances.”
Google took the wraps off Google Earth Tues., debuting free satellite imagery-based mapping software that combines 3D buildings and terrain with Google search and mapping capabilities. Based on Keyhole technology and a cache of global satellite and aerial imagery, the software lets users zoom from space to street level to find geographic information and explore places around the world.
Datapath said it acquired the assets of M&C systems, a provider of satellite communications monitoring and control systems. The company opened its new corporate hq in Duluth, Ga., this week. In a separate announcement, Datapath said the U.S. Army awarded the firm a $17.5 million contract for 14 Joint Network Node Satellite Communications Trailers and 38 Satellite Communication Battalion Command Post Node Trailers. The trailer-based satellite terminals enable communication in remote locations inaccessible by larger mobile terminals, and are configurable to work in the C-, Ku , Ka-, and X-bands, Datapath officials said.
The proposed SBC-AT&T merger is “in the best interests of consumers and industry employees throughout the [country] because it will reinvigorate AT&T’s declining business” without harming competition, CWA said in a white paper. Without a vigorous merger partner, AT&T would face “dramatic declines” or would “disappear altogether,” it said, noting that since 1999 AT&T’s total revenue has dropped 38% and in 2004, the company had a $10 billion operating loss: “That would be very damaging for consumers and workers.” The merger with SBC, however, “provides a real opportunity for job growth and the further development of services and products that consumers want,” said CWA Pres. Morton Bahr. He called on federal and state regulators to approve the deal.
A light telecom regulatory touch may not be right for consumers, the U.K. Office of Communications (Ofcom) Consumer Panel said Thurs. in its first annual report. The communications market is a “daunting and confusing experience” for many people who find it hard to keep up with the rate of change and who worry about costs, the panel said. It’s not a small matter, it said: In 2003, the last year for which data are available, U.K. households spent more than Pounds 20 billion ($38 billion) on communications. While a free market may cut costs and boost innovation, consumers need access to ready, cheap and available information. The panel said it’s watching “very carefully” implementation of Ofcom’s professed intent to take a light regulatory approach, since that may not be the right way to correct market failure. Ofcom should be ready and able to intervene when markets don’t perform in consumers’ interests, the group said. Interested parties have raised key questions about access, or the lack of it, to communications services arising because of where people live or who they are, the panel said. These “issues about people as citizens” -- such as some groups’ vulnerability in the switchover to digital TV -- technically stand outside the panel’s mandate but it will continue to consider them. This year the panel pursued 5 issues: Digital switchover, Ofcom’s strategic review of telecom, universal service, mis-selling in fixed line telecommunications and premium rate services.