Satellite operator EchoStar is reportedly in early talks with telcos in Brazil about forging a DTH joint venture in the country.
The company is negotiating with companies including Telefonica Brasil and Oi about creating the venture, according to…
Satellite operator EchoStar is reportedly in early talks with telcos in Brazil about forging a DTH joint venture in the country.
The company is negotiating with companies including Telefonica Brasil and Oi about creating the venture, according to reports.
EchoStar has previously stated it was looking to provide DTH services from its recently acquired 45W orbital slot and that it preferred to launch a platform in partnership with other operators. The company declined to discuss the state of these negotiations and whether Telefonica Brasil and Oi were involved.
Under the reported plan, a local telco would operate the satellite platform’s marketing and customer services while EchoStar provided the technology.
Such a move could potentially see EchoStar’s sister company Dish Network, a major provider of US DTH services, expand further into the high growth Latin American market.
US-based satellite broadcaster DirecTV, Dish’s main DTH rival, has already been increasing its presence in Brazil, and Latin America in general, as growth in its domestic market slows. Dish has also been looking for alternative revenue streams outside of its core market and has seen strong returns from its Dish Mexico business.
Earlier this year HNS Americas, the Latin American subsidiary of satellite broadband specialist Hughes – which was acquired by EchoStar last year – successfully bid for the right to launch a satellite to Brazil’s 45W slot. Other successful bidders in Brazilian regulator Anatel’s auction of orbital rights were local satellite operator Star One and Paris-based Eutelsat.
The DTH market in Latin America is seen as a potentially lucrative growth area for operators looking to tap promising emerging markets. Anatel president Joao Rezende was cited earlier this year saying the number of pay-TV subscribers in Brazil was set to double to 25 million households in the next five years. There were reportedly 15.1 million households subscribed to pay-TV services at the end of August, after growing 30% this year. The regulator is also anticipating a surge in demand for satellite capacity when Brazil hosts the football World Cup in 2014, and Olympic Games in 2016.
For the telcos, the opportunity to partner with EchoStar to provide satellite services would help them expand further in Brazil, because many parts lack the infrastructure to provide cable TV. Telefonica and Oi already provide cable TV services in the country.
In related news, EchoStar has contracted Space Systems/Loral to build a new satellite, which will provide exceptional sparing flexibility for the fleet of its DTH counterpart Dish.
EchoStar is providing space management services to Dish for the new satellite, called EchoStar-18, including managing construction, procuring a launch vehicle and testing the bird in-orbit. After launch, the satellite will be controlled through EchoStar’s spacecraft operation centres.
Dish CEO Joe Clayton explained: “The Space Systems/Loral design for EchoStar-18 provides unique flexibility that will help us to continue delivering high quality programming and technology to our customers.”
