European mobile operator T-Mobile is pushing ahead with the development of new DTH platforms in Central Eruope with both the Czech Republic and Croatia likely to see new satellite broadcasters in the coming months.
In Croatia, incumbent T-HT, a T-Mobile…
European mobile operator T-Mobile is pushing ahead with the development of new DTH platforms in Central Eruope with both the Czech Republic and Croatia likely to see new satellite broadcasters in the coming months.
In Croatia, incumbent T-HT, a T-Mobile subsidiary, is reportedly looking to start a satellite platform, with tests underway on Eutelsat Sesat (16E) to distribute 17 encrypted channels.
Croatia already has two DTH platforms: Digi TV (owned by Romanian company RCS&RDS) and Total TV (run by Serbian cable operator SBB).
Meanwhile in the Czech Republic, another subsidiary of T-Mobile, T-Mobile Czech Republic, is also expected to launch a DTH service using the infrastructure of Skylink, another platform operating in the country, according to local media reports.
The new platform would operate the service from Astra 3A (23.5 E) and would compete with four other companies: Skylink, CS Link, Digi TV and UPC Direct. But it was recently reported that Skylink and CS Link, which both occupy the same orbital slot, could merge their operations.
Besides Croatia and Czech Republic, Austria will also have a new DTH platform soon. A few weeks ago, M7 announced it would launch a digital pay TV service in the country by mid- October.
Called AustriaSat, the satellite platform is expected to offer 14 channels from several broadcasters, including RTL and MTV, via Astra (19.2 E).
Olaf Castritius, executive vice-president for Austria at M7 told SatelliteFinance that the aim for AustriaSat was to become “the leading HD provider in Austria”, adding that the company was “looking to reach 100,000 subscribers by 2013”.
T-HT and T-Mobile Czech Republic could not be reached for comment.
