By Peter J. Brown
The satellite sector in China is a mature business, ready for steady growth and eager to leapfrog ahead with as many third-generation satellite solutions as possible. This ability to skip an entire generation of satellite technology in many instances puts China in an ideal position when it comes to setting its future course.
According to projections supplied by Patrick French, regional director, Europe and senior analyst at FL-based Northern Sky Research, transponder demand for broadband along with narrowband VSAT and other services will more than double throughout the next five years across all of East Asia including China, while the dominant video services sector, which surpasses all others combined, including telephony and carrier services in the region, will expand by 40 percent.
As far as third-generation solutions are concerned, a good example is the DVB-RCS contract that Nanjing Toptry China-Spacenet Co. Ltd., a broadband access service provider, signed with Alcatel Space in 2003.
"Alcatel Space has a long-standing cooperation with China in satellites. This cooperation is an integral part of the strategy of Alcatel Space; it involves Chinese authorities; it extends from the field of satellite telecommunications and broadcasting to long-term cooperation for navigation systems and risk management systems using satellite capabilities," says Alcatel Space Spokesperson Laurent Zimmermann. "Alcatel Space certainly hopes to build on its success with Toptry to expand sales of its satellite broadband access system, the Alcatel 9780."
China is also closely monitoring the launch of Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (aka Digital Mobile Broadcasting) by the Mobile Broadcasting Corp. (MBCO) in Tokyo, for example, via the recently launched MBSAT joint venture with SK Telecom in Korea.
"For geopolitical reasons, China does not want to fall behind in mobile broadcasting. The State Administration for Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) has already sent two delegations to Japan to learn more, but it is not likely that we will see any commercial breakthrough in China before 2006," says Thierry Raymaekers, sales and marketing director for Irdeto Access in China.
Yoshitake Yamaguchi, MBCO's acting general manager, is keenly aware of the Chinese interest in DMB. "As the world's first S-band digital multimedia satellite service for mobile and personal users, many foreign companies including Chinese companies have visited our headquarters," says Yamaguchi, who hopes that the Chinese have made a positive evaluation of the new MBSAT satellite, which has two separate beams covering Japan and Korea. However, as of today, he sees no firm opportunities for MBCO in China.
An ITU Deadline Looms in 2005
While the upcoming Olympics in Beijing in 2008 and the huge International Expo in Shanghai in 2010 have been marked on everyone's calendar, another date looms. Raymaekers reminds everyone that the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has imposed a deadline of 2005 for China to start acting on its assigned DTH frequencies and orbital slots via Sinosat 2, which will operate at 134 degrees E, along with the satellite Apstar 6.
The State Planning Commission (SPC) is authorized to lead this DTH project and to coordinate the team of relevant agencies, according to Raymaekers. SARFT oversees content approval, transmission and broadcast monitoring. The Aerospace Ministry heads up design and launch of the satellite, while the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) will be in charge of standards including set-top box standards and production.
"The current thinking among the key agencies is to not use the CCTV Integ-rated Platform, and to establish a new DTH pay-TV platform that will be operated by a new company, jointly owned by the relevant government agencies [SPC, SARFT, MII and Aerospace]," says Raymaekers. "The question remains whether foreign equipment providers will play a significant role in DTH broadcasting."
Currently, besides filling the allocated DTH satellite orbital slots, the Chinese are also preoccupied with restructuring companies in the satellite communications sector for IPOs, according to Raymaekers.
"One thing is sure. The Chinese autho-rities like to have total control of satellite, so that they can shut off any channel in the shortest time if they want to do so," says Eui Koh, Singapore-based president of the Asia Pacific Satellite Communications Council (APSCC). "It is still a sensitive industry and it is strictly administrated. Chinese government policies will still play a large role here," says Taili Wang, an associate in the Beijing office of Coudert Brothers.
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