Russian telco MTS is thought to be looking to enter the country’s DTH market, and is reported to have already acquired satellite transponders.
The company reportedly has five transponders on the ABS-2 satellite and these could be used to broadcast…
Russian telco MTS is thought to be looking to enter the country’s DTH market, and is reported to have already acquired satellite transponders.
The company reportedly has five transponders on the ABS-2 satellite and these could be used to broadcast between 150-180 channels. The satellite will cover the whole of Russia, except the Arctic.
MTS declined to comment.
Anna Kurbatova, senior equity analyst at BCS Investment Bank, told SatelliteFinance that although MTS had never shown interest in the satellite market before, it would not be difficult to enter the market.
“It’s more a question of promotion and getting people to buy the service,” said Kurbatova. “Their return on investment might not be the most interesting in the sector.”
Another analyst said he expected MTS’ satellite operations to be on a very small scale, as the company is currently developing a number of products such as cable TV.
Russia’s DTH market is currently dominated by Tricolor TV, NTV-Plus and Orion Express.
As SatelliteFinance previously reported, Orion Express is searching for a strategic partner to expand its offering and MTS was said to be one of the companies approached. However, no deal announcement was made.
