Bangladesh’s First DTH Operator Shares Plans for Market

Dmitry Lapitskiy, CEO of Beximco Communications. Photo: Beximco Communications

[Via Satellite 06-08-2016] Two months ago Bangladesh got its first Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite television service through Beximco Communications, a joint venture between Beximco Holdings and GS Group. Beximco Communications’ RealVU DTH service is active in three divisions of Bangladesh today and has plans to expand throughout the rest of the country.

Dmitry Lapitskiy, CEO of Beximco Communications, told Via Satellite that the company plans to take RealVU nationwide by the end of the year, and sees now as the opportune time to launch satellite television.

“Bangladesh is a growing market where potential is endless, and as we have entered the era of digitalization — keeping government’s vision 2020 in mind — this is the right time,” he said.

Cable TV is not fully digitized in Bangladesh today. Lapitskiy said he would not refer to cable as competition to RealVU, but does see the satellite service as having an advantage. As the first mover for DTH in the country, he cited the combination of strengths from Beximco Communication’s parent companies as a key enabler.

“Beximco Holdings limited is one of the largest conglomerates in Bangladesh and has been running successfully for years. Having a strong local backbone gives us enough exposure to experiment being a start up in Bangladesh. On the other hand, GS Group is an international investment and industry holding company operating in TV broadcasting projects implementation and management across the globe. GS Group acts as a provider and technological integrator for RealVU. By possessing significant expertise in the field of implementing and managing national digital TV projects, GS Group helps us have the best service,” he said.

RealVU started in April with 105 channels, of which Lapitskiy said 26 are Bangladeshi, constituting almost 99 percent of the local channels. The rest are neighboring and international channels. Beximco Communications is broadcasting RealVU on ABS’ satellite ABS 2 at 75 degrees east. Lapitskiy described having high power C- and Ku-band beams as optimal for South East Asia’s connectivity requirements.

For ABS, Bangladesh is a market with significant potential. Raymond Chow, ABS managing director for Asia and deputy COO, told Via Satellite that the operator would look to capture business there with ABS 2, along with the upcoming ABS 2A, which is currently scheduled to launch June 14 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Raymond Chow, deputy COO and MD of Asia, ABS. Photo: ABS

“Bangladesh has a population of over 150 million and a TV household of about 35 million. Cable TV penetration is around 20 percent of the market and is mainly concentrated in major cities. The majority is still in analog. Therefore, there is a huge growth potential for digital TV distribution. DTH platforms will speed up the digitization of the TV market and will reach rural areas where cable was not able to penetrate easily, and enable viewers to enjoy more TV channels with digital quality,” he said.

Chow added that digitization of cable headends across the country will increase the supply of bandwidth and allow channel numbers to increase. He estimated the number of channels analog cable headend operators can provide to be about 90. ABS anticipates digitization will spark consumer demand for more content and more choices, prompting the market to adapt and compete. Chow also noted a trend in other emerging pay-TV markets of hybrid solutions such as DTH combined with cable, or DTH combined with Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) gaining popularity as ways to attract more subscribers and extend coverage.

Of RealVU’s 105 channels, five are currently offered in High Definition (HD). Lapitskiy said Beximco Communications plans to bring HD sound and picture quality to all of Bangladesh by the end of next year, following this year’s completion of nationwide service.

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“Demand is very high because the Bangladesh market is still in the phase where HD channels are very new technology,” he said.

Ultra-HD is also a possibility further down the timeline, though Lapitskiy said he does not foresee this coming to Bangladesh in the near term. “We do see ultra-HD in the future but not in the next two to three years,” he said.

Chow said the majority of channels in Bangladesh today are in Standard Definition (SD), but that HD looks poised to grow.

“The uptake of HD will gradually increase over time,” he said. “Today’s compression technology has advanced and there are HD channels delivered in 2.2 to 3 Mbps. Adopting the latest technology with new functionalities and capabilities will bring value to the customer.”