A = Analogue
D = Digital

105.5 degreesE:
Asiasat 3S

D The Hindi-language channel Sahara TV has left 3660 MHz vertical but continues to be available via 4020 MHz vertical, SR 27250, FEC 3/4 where apart from the main national channel there are six Sahara TV regional testcards in evidence. These hail from Sahara TV NCR – V514, A670; Mumbai – V515, A680; Uttar Pradesh – V516, A690; Bihar – V517, A700; Rajasthan – V518, A710 and Madhya Pradesh – V519, A720. Sahara TV has bases in Noida (near Delhi) and Mumbai and its own uplinking facility also at Noida

78.5 degreesE:
Thaicom 2&3

D The Pakistani channels on 3610 MHz vertical, SR 3333, FEC 3/4 and 3614 MHz vertical, SR 3333, FEC 3/4 appear to have been switched off. The former frequency relayed PTV World and Radio Pakistan and the other carried PTV 1 and Radio Pakistan. From Thailand, MCOT Thai Channel TV9 has launched on 3796 MHz horizontal, SR 6110, FEC 3/4, VPID 512, APID 650. This channel is also available in analogue format on 3975 MHz horizontal. TVK Cambodia has launched on 3530 MHz vertical, SR 3370, FEC 3/4, VPID 308, APID 256 in free-to-air MPEG- 2.

76.5 degreesE:
Apstar 2R

D The iTV promo channel from China has left 3975 MHz vertical, SR 4996, FEC 3/4.

72 degreesE:
PAS 4

D On 11 February at 10:35 a live feed from Mecca showing the annual pilgrimage to Hajj was fed over 11530 MHz vertical, SR 5632, FEC 3/4, VPID 308, APID 256, ID:’9MHz PAL, 1 audio’ in free-to-air MPEG-2 complete with Arabic commentary.

64 degreesE:
Intelsat 906

D The Pacific Bell testcard, which had occupied 3745 MHz RHCP, SR 6620, FEC 3/4, VPID 1360, APID 1320 has now left the frequency.

45 degreesE:
Europe*Star 1

D BBC News are using Europe*Star 1 for feed traffic out of Kuwait. On 13 February at 16:30 a live feed was observed on 12672 MHz vertical, SR 4225, FEC 7/8, ID:’GB-BBC Sat Ops TX1′ in clear MPEG-2.

42 degreesE:
Turksat 1C & Eurasiasat 1

D According to the respected Turkish newspaper Milliyet the US government has requested capacity on Eurasiasat 1 to accommodate the huge increase in satellite traffic from the Gulf region during the present military build up in the region. Both Eurasiasat 1s East and West beams cover the region adequately. Bayrak TV from Northern Cyprus has moved from 11111 MHz vertical to 10966 MHz vertical, SR 4555, FEC 5/6, VPID 308, APID 256 (left channel) in clear MPEG-2. Radyo Bayrak can be heard on the same audio PID (right channel).

40 degreesE:
Express A1R

D Pervyi Kanal (Channel 1), which used to be called Ostankino Television, has launched on 3675 MHz RHCP, SR 33477, FEC 7/8, VPID 512, APID 650 in clear MPEG-2. Also, Pervyi Kanal+4, a time-shifted version for western Siberia, is carrying out test transmissions on 3675 MHz RHCP via PIDs V516, A680.

36 degreesE:
Eutelsat W4 & Sesat

D AzTV1 from the Azerbaijan capital of Baku has launched on 11046 MHz vertical, SR 2892, FEC 3/4, VPID 4130, APID 4131 in clear MPEG-2. This channel was previously only available via Turksat 1C at 42 degrees East (11608 MHz horizontal, SR 3750, FEC 2/3) where it was relayed via the East beam for Turkey. AzTV 1 can now be watched throughout Europe via this new feed. MKTV has moved up in frequency a little from 12601 MHz vertical to 12604 MHz vertical, SR 3200, FEC 2/3, VPID 308, APID 256. Russian channel ITR has launched on 12215 MHz LHCP, SR 4000, FEC 3/4, VPID 257, APID 258 (Russian beam) in free-to-air MPEG-2.

30.5 degreesE:
Arabsat 2B

D Algeria’s Chaine 3 radio network can be heard in free-to-air MPEG-2 on 12509 MHz, SR 3200, FEC 3/4 via APID 111. al-Arabiya has launched on 12722 MHz, SR 5200, FEC 3/4, VPID 520, APID 648 in clear MPEG-2.

28.2 degreesE:
Astra 2A, 2B & 2D & Eurobird 1

D To add to the rapidly growing list of home shopping channels in the Sky Digital network, Factory Outlet TV has launched on 12285 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 2/3, VPID 2315, APID 2316 in clear MPEG-2. Travel channel Going Places TV is new on 10921 MHz horizontal, SR 22000, FEC 5/6, VPID 2310, APID 2311, Sky Ch.669 replacing Travel TV. China’s CCTV-9, the English language service, has opened on 11661 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 2/3, VPID 2337, APID 2338 in clear MPEG-2. Programming is in parallel with CCTV-9’s original outlet for Europe on Intelsat 707 at 1 degree West. The Tamil-language SouthForYou on 11584 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 2/3, VPID 2315, APID 2316 is encoded in Videoguard again following a period in the clear. On the same frequency Radio Caroline has overcome its technical problems and is back via APID 2330. Galaxie Sport in the CzechLink package is now encoded in Cryptoworks on 12605 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 via VPID 164, APID 96. Stanice 0 is still free-to-air here. The other occupants of the CzechLink bouquet are CT1, CT2, Prima TV, Eurosport Czech, Radiozurnal, Radio Praha, Vltava, Proglas, Radio Svobodna Europe (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) and Radio Regina. The UKTV group are thought to be about to announce the impending launch of three new channels. They will feature nature, comedy and DIY and it will come as no surprise that they will be named UK Nature, UK Comedy and UK DIY. UK Nature will provide another chance to watch such shows as Life of Mammals and Wildlife on One whilst UK Comedy will off re-runs of the hugely successful BBC Two show The Office and Shooting Stars amongst others. The new trio are expected to launch before the last quarter of 2003. With the growing trend for time-shifted channels Bravo is to launch Bravo+1 next month. The new channel is currently testing on 11954 MHz horizontal. The racing channel GoBarkingMad at Ch.414 in the Sky Digital EPG has been renamed Red Button Racing. A new channel, Major Black Entertainment, is stream-sharing with Classics TV at Ch.247. It airs from noon to 19:00 Mon-Fri and 08:00-19:00 Saturday/Sunday. Star Plus will be free-to-air every evening until 3 March in a bid to gain more viewers and subsequently more subscribers. The channel, which can be found at Ch.804 in the Sky EPG, will go clear from 21:00 until early morning. Revelations, a new religious channel has launched and now appears in the EPG at Ch.676. A new Hindi/Urdu/Punjabi-language radio station is set to launch in the next few weeks. MMI Radio from US-based MultiMedia International is working on a carriage deal with Sky and may well appear in the EPG soon. Following some weeks of financial uncertainty Channel Health has finally left 11585 MHz horizontal and has also disappeared for the Sky Digital EPG. New travel shopping channel My Travel TV has commenced test transmissions on 10921 MHz horizontal, SR 22000, FEC 5/6.

26 degreesE:
Arabsat 2A & 3A

D A free-to-air promo for the new Saudi-backed Arabic language all news channel, al-Arabiya, launched on 11785 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 710, APID 720 on 18 February. al-Arabiya from Dubai-based Middle East Broadcasting (MBC) is set to rival the controversial al-Jazeera news channel from Qatar. Algerie 3 and Chaine 1 have launched on 11938 MHz, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 100, APIDs 110/768. The Symbol Rate for Kuwait TV 1 on 12540 MHz vertical has changed to SR 3000, FEC 3/4. Iran’s IRIB World Service Radio 4 has launched on 12735 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 via APID 2821. The beam is configured for the Middle East and the Maghreb countries only and does not encroach into northern Europe. Radio station Iza’at Jomhoriyat al-Iraq has launched on 11747 MHz vertical in clear MPEG-2

A Algerie 3 and its accompanying radio stations, Chaine 1, Chaine 3 and Chaine Thematique El Bahdja have all left 11900 MHz vertical. In addition to all the digital relays al- Arabiya has opened an analogue outlet on 4080 MHz RHCP in clear PAL replacing the Syrian Satellite Channel. Radio El-Bernameg al-Aam has left the 7.56 MHz audio sub-carrier here too.

23.5 degreesE:
Astra 3A

D A new DigiKabel multiplex has opened on 11675 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4. It contains Show TV – V1111, A1112; TGRT – V1121, A1122; Kanal 7 – V1131, A1132; RAI Uno – V1141, A1142; RAI Due – V1151, A1152 and RAI Tre – V1161, A1162. On 11675 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 TVE Intercontinental – V681, A682 and Canal 24 Horas – V610, A602 are new. On 12605 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 there are five new streams in operation carrying PCNE – V911, A912; Nuvolari – V941, A942; RTR Planeta – V921, A922; Leonardo – V951, A952 and Alice – V961, A962. All of the multiplexes here feed cable headends, primarily in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

19.2 degreesE:
Astra 1B,C & E-H, Astra 2C

A The SES promo on 10979 MHz vertical, which was broadcast in clear PAL has now left the frequency.

16 degreesE:
Eutelsat W2

D Recently there have been up to three active streams for CBS on 11190 MHz, SR 5632, FEC 3/4 instead of the usual one. This extra activity appears to be a consequence of heightened tension in the Middle East, and in particular the Iraq situation. The three streams are entitled ‘CBS Newspath Kuwait Path A’, ‘CBS Newspath Kuwait Path B’ and ‘CBS Newspath Kuwait Path C’ on PIDs V33/1057/2081, A34/1058/2082 respectively. New York radio station WCBS NewsRadio 880 AM appears to have left the frequency. There are now four Greek regional TV stations in the OTE package on 11285 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 in the clear. They are TV Pireas, Kriti TV, Polis TV and 902. On 15 February live and recorded video footage from the massive anti-war rally in London was fed over 12517 MHz horizontal, SR 5632, FEC 3/4, ID:’UKI-511CODE’ for Sky News.

13 degreesE:
Hotbird 1/2/3/4/6

D Beur TV, Khalifa TV and Radio Khalifa have joined the French Television par Satellite line-up on 11034 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 via PIDs V420/520, A430/530/531. All three are free-to-air. Kurdistan TV has opened on 11137 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 via PIDs V3526, A3646 in free-to-air MPEG-2. A new free-to-air promo channel called TPS Evasion has launched in the French TPS package at 10835 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 via PIDs V420, A430. A ‘GlobeCast Europe Brookmans Park’ testcard has appeared on 10949 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 1000, APID 1001 in clear MPEG-2. The Olisat TV Espana caption has returned to 11200 MHz vertical, VPID 368, APID 369 after a short absence. Iraqi radio station Iza’at Jomhoriyat al-Iraq can be heard in the Arabsat package on 12654 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, APID 1921, ID:’Baghdad R1′ and also on the Iraq Satellite Channel under ‘Track 2’.The Kairali Channel has launched on 12220 MHz horizontal, SR 6160, FEC 3/4, VPID 33, APID 34. This is a Malayalam-language channel aimed at the large Malayalam- speaking population in the United Arab Emirates.

7 degreesE:
Eutelsat W3

D BBC News 24 has joined the BFBS line-up on 11324 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 1/2, VPID 104, APID 404. At present all of the channels in this multiplex are free-to-air.

5.2 degreesE:
Sirius 2/3 & Astra 1A

D The racing channel GoBarkingMad (or Red Button Racing as it now likes to be known as) has joined the digital platform for the Baltic countries on 11845 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 via PIDs V6241, A6242 where it stream-shares with Shop America. The Swedish radio network SR P3 has launched a free-to-air service on 12380 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 via APID 202. SR P3 has also opened on 12245 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 7/8, APID 172 along with a DTS caption – V171, A172 and SR 5.1 MultiKanal – A174. Most of the channels in this multiplex are encoded in Conax. In the ViaSat line-up on 11977 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 audio channels Easy and Star FM have been replaced by Lugna Favoriter 104.7 FM and Metro FM via PIDs A2227/2231. Erotic channel Private Gold has launched on 12111 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 5/6 via VPID 331, APID 332 in Cryptoworks encoded MPEG-2. At 11842 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, another ViaSat multiplex, Lithuanian TV (LTV1) has launched via VPID 6251, APID 6252 along with LR2 – A6272 and LR1 – A6262, both Lithuanian Radio domestic channels. All three are free-to-air. LTV1, LR1 and LR2 have also started on 11881 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 via PIDs V5021, A5022/5101/5104.

2.9 degreesE:
RASCOM 1 (Proposed)

RASCOM (The Regional African Satellite Communications Organisation) is to start building its first satellite this year, which will provide TV and radio services to all of Africa. The launch is likely to take place in 2005/2006. The 2.9 degrees East orbital slot has been reserved for the new craft.

0.8 degrees/1 degreesW:
Thor 2 & 3 & Intelsat 707

D Radio 1 has replaced TNN in the Bulgarian package on 12169 MHz horizontal, SR 28000, FEC 7/8 via APID 700. P4 Radio Hele Norge has vacated the Telenor bouquet at 11246 MHz vertical, SR 24500, FEC 7/8, APID 672. Visjon Norge has launched on 12226 MHz vertical, SR 28000, FEC 7/8, VPID 518, APID 672 in Conax- encoded MPEG-2.

4 degreesW:
Amos 1

D Nickelodeon Hungaria has launched in PowerVu on 11324 MHz horizontal, SR 3333, FEC 3/4, VPID 1160, APID 1120 via Amos-1s Hungarian beam

5 degreesW:
Telecom 2C & Atlantic Bird 3

D BRTV is in the clear once again on 12543 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 via PIDs V123, A133.

7 degreesW:
Nilesat 101 & 102

D The MBC2 stream on 11900 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 1001, APID 1010 is still present but is not carrying any programming. A new Egyptian channel Mazzika 1 is testing on 11900 MHz vertical via PIDs V1119, A1120. The channel is expected to launch very soon. An al-Majd International promo is being played out on 11745 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 via VPID 1009, APID 1209 in clear MPEG-2. Sony Entertainment Television (SET) Middle East has opened on 11804 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 3113, APID 3114 in Irdeto 2 encoded MPEG-2.

8 degreesW:
Telecom 2D & Atlantic Bird 2

D A new data stream entitled ‘HUMAX DOWNLOAD SVC’ has opened in the VisAvision package on 11304 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 for over-the-air software upgrades for the Humax range of DVB receivers. EuroNews Italy, Spain and Russia have joined the VisAvision cable package on 11304 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 via PIDs V663, A662/661/660.

15 degreesW:
Telstar 12

D A live feed for MSNBC from Kuwait on the military build up there was fed over 11630 MHz horizontal, SR 1500, FEC 3/4 on 13 February at 18:35. In the UPC cable package on 11510 MHz horizontal, SR 18382, FEC 3/4 Super-1 has been replaced by Extreme Sport on PIDs V3201, A3210. NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw was sighted on a live rehearsal feed from London on 13 February at 22:55 at 11518 MHz horizontal, SR 5350, FEC 7/8, VPID 308, APID 256 in clear MPEG-2. At the same time another stream, at 11630 MHz horizontal, SR 1500, FEC 3/4, VPID 308, APID 256, ID:’1′ was relaying out of the US back to London Tom Brokaw’s autocue. The following night Brokaw was in Turkey and the feed was carried on 11518 MHz horizontal as before.

27.5 degreesW:
Intelsat 605

D Intelsat 907, the replacement craft for Intelsat 605 at this orbital slot was successfully launched from Kourou on 15 February at 07:00. 907 carries a payload of 44 C-Band and 12 Ku-Band transponders.

30 degreesW:
Hispasat 1A/B/C/D

D The Fox Portugal promo channel on 11731 MHz horizontal, SR 28120, FEC 5/6, VPID 501, APID 502 is now encoded in NTL-RAS. Canal 47 in the GlobeCast Espana package on 11615 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 has changed PIDs to V4202, A4201. 11931 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 is sporting a new Wonderful TV testcard on PIDs V4780, A4781 in clear MPEG-2. SiVSA Entertainment Television is new on 12711 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 2205, APID 2215 in free-to-air MPEG-2.

37.5 degreesW:
Telstar 11

D TRN International, the service for betting shops, has moved from 11567 MHz horizontal to 12636 MHz vertical, SR 3930, FEC 3/4, VPID 352, APID 353 in free-to-air MPEG-2.

40.5 degreesW:
NSS 806

D A new Argentinian radio station has joined the Kavulakian bouquet on 3695 MHz RHCP, SR 5900, FEC 2/3. It is the Buenos Aires based Radio Provincia, which is available on 1270 AM around the capital city.

58 degreesW:
PAS 9

D Locomotion Latin America has launched on 3760 MHz vertical, SR 27685, FEC 7/8, VPID 502, APID 550 in clear MPEG-2. It joins Cl@se Brasil, VeneVision Continental, Locomotion Iberia, Locomotion West, Locomotion Argentina, Playboy TV Latin America, Playboy TV Brasil, Infinito USA, Playboy TV Iberia, Locomotion East, HTV, CineCanal 2, LAPTV, CineCanal Oeste, CineCanal Este, Movie City Oeste, Movie City Este, The Film Zone Este and The Film Zone Oeste. Most of the channels in this package are encoded in MPEG PowerVu.

71.8 degreesW:
Nahuel 1

D Three channels in the Uruguayan package on 11954 MHz vertical, SR 18750, FEC 2/3 are now in the clear. They are Monte Carlo TV – V511, A512; Canal 10 – V767, A768 and TeleDoce – V1023, A1024. Nahuel 1’s Ku-Band beam is centred on Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay at levels of 50dBW dropping to 44dBW for southern Brazil and Bolivia.