[MCIBUS]

I'm just curious about something?

At present BTV has 91 & 82 all to themselfs and they've leasedf 72.5 to Dish.

Now I think and not certain about this but doesn't Dish have the 121 spot(although I believe its not DBS but some other type of sat)I don't think Dish is using that sat but and someone correct me here its the LNB not the receivers that actually receive the signal and do what ever they have to get the signals.

Is it possible for BTV to use 121 assuming the getthe "OK" from what ever agency handles that and use that for HD? along with 82? I'm not certain if the entire country*From BC to PEI can receive 121 or not?

 

[Pinza]

That position has Echostar 9 & Galaxy 23.

Echostar 9 has several transponders being used by by Dish.

 

[primehifi]

121 is too low on the horizon for most people east of Quebec (or thereabouts). Yes, it's above the horizon and attainable, but it's so low that for a lot of places, houses and buildings would be in the way. This is the very reason Dish wanted the 72 bird.

Fyi, St. John's, NL technically can see the 129 slot, but again it's like 0.5 degrees on the horizon.

Secondly, Bell would still need to launch a new sat for this position.

Also, since when did the "entire country" end at PEI?

 

[scrubby]

Also don't forget that if Bell ever wanted to use a third satellite position, every single customer's dish would have to be modified and I cannot see Bell willing to absorb such an enormous cost.

 

[Pinza]

They are just about to swap out MPEG2 for MPEG4 receivers so who knows.

Anyway, they could do it in a way to minimise the need for a full swap by adding new HD Channels on the new Sat, offering an upgrade to Customers if they keep the new channels for 12 months or so.

 

[primehifi]

Also don't forget that if Bell ever wanted to use a third satellite position, every single customer's dish would have to be modified and I cannot see Bell willing to absorb such an enormous cost.

How do you think we got from just 91 to both 91 and 82? Bell wasn't always a two sat town. When they introduced 82 pretty much none of bell's customers had access. All new customers got the 20" pan w/ skew and switch, while existing customers would get the new pan/switch installed when they either bought a new receiver (dish would accompy it in the box or would be installed by bell) or called up to order new channels only available on 82 (new equipment would be installed).

 

[QCK]

Bell will not have a 72.7W satellite for many years if ever. Dish Newtork has based their Eastern Arc on this position along with 61.5W & 77W, and they will not give back the 72.7W postion anytime soon.

 

[ScaryBob]

The shame is that 72.7 is an ideal slot for Bell. A standard, commonly available, 3 LNB DBS dish would work fine. 72.7 is not ideal for the west coast but it would serve eastern and central Canada well. New or existing western services could be placed on 91 as eastern services are moved to 72.7. Bell could have used 72.7 for eastern locals and regional services like French language specialty services, TMN and sports. They also could have traded space on 72.7 for some space on a more western slot to carry western services. Dish has that space locked up as well (129 owned by CIEL.)

No matter what the outcome, it still remains that Bell basically sold satellite space owned by the Canadian public to a US company. Is it theirs to sell? No. If they don't want to use it, the resource should be forfeited for assignment to another Canadian company. It's kind of like CTV saying they don't want to use Channel 9 in Toronto anymore and just selling the frequency to NBC. That is not allowed so why should Bell be allowed to sell satellite space to a foreign country? Where was IC and the CRTC on this one? In Bell's pocket, of course.

 

[Pinza]

When Bell moved the Chinese Channels from 91 to 82, they did a free upgrade for all the existing customers, there were thousands literally carried out in the GTA alone.

Same again when Bell moved the Horse Racing Channels from 91 to 82, this also included the Off Site Betting locations.

With Bell now using DPP LNBF's it would be quite easy to add another orbital slot by using another Dish and then feeding its' DP LNBF into the DPP Twins' Input port.

 

[dirtroad]

Back in the day... when Dish Network Canada, was on 107.3 with a Linear LNB, and when Express Vu moved to the Nimiq Satellite, LNBs were all replaced, and in some cases Dishes and LNBs. Subscribers were given either $50 or $75 to do the repoint themselves or Expressvu would do it free.

 

[Blackloz]

Im sure Bell could switch to a Dish 1000.2/4 type dish if they had to. It really wouldn't be any different then when they switched over from just 91 to the combo 91/82.

 

[Pinza]

Switching to that Dish would mean a new bird at 73 or 100, with a seperate Dish it can be anywhere, within reason.

 

[Donnybrook]

Bell has ZERO plans to add transponders on any other satellite - Now or in the future. They have decided that IPTV is required to compete against bundled cable/cell/internet competitors

 

[ScaryBob]

Bell has ZERO plans to add transponders on any other satellite - Now or in the future.

I am afraid that this is the case. Unfortunately, Bell's IPTV implementation is substandard compared to other providers who are installing fibre. Also, Bell is not opening up their higher speed DSL2 network to competitors. This is causing a repetition of the move to DSL, where Bell used their position to eliminate competition and obtain a near monopoly in the high speed telecommunication market. Their only competitor is cable, another industry that shows little interest in allowing or providing any real competition.

 

[MCIBUS]

Interesting comments?

I'm not sure what the future holds for BTV.

But if I was in charge of BTV, when Ciel had made plans to launch a sat I would of mad a deal with them to use 129.

I would of put this:

129 western/Eastern locals & Western Feeds VU(8SPK)
91 HD(MPEG 4)
82 Specialties English/French/Ethnic(8SPK)
72.5 Eastern & Western locals & Eastern feed VU(8 Spk)

Since 129 & 72.5 can't really be reached by all of Canada this way you get "spot" beaming in different way then Dish.


primehifi

PEI?

Isn't PEI the furthest province in the Maritimes going into the Atlantic Ocean?

Isn't this the farthest point East of Canadian land territory? Its furtherest out into the Atlantic then Nova Scotia/New Brunswick/Newfoundland-Labador?

Now grant you I'm not that technical in this field so what I posted not sure if its possible or not?

 

[ScaryBob]

129 is directly over the west coast and 72.7 is directly over the east coast which makes them ideal for regional or local services but of limited use for national services. Bell does not have enough regional services to put these satellites to full use. Dishnet and DirecTV do. The big problem, as I see it, is that these slots are now lost to other possible Canadian DBS providers or future owners of BellTV, maybe permanently.