Intelsat, in cooperation with BT and Japan Telecom, today announced that
NHK, the Japanese broadcaster, has chosen the power and coverage of Intelsat
for transmitting the first full-time satellite HDTV contribution link from
Europe to Japan. The service, scheduled to start in October on the Intelsat
902 satellite at 62°E, will initially include European uplink sites in
London and Paris, transmitting to Tokyo.
“This path from Europe to Japan is a significant link in our HDTV platform,”
stated Akio Sano, NHK’s Chief Producer, News Department. “The Intelsat 902
satellite provided the coverage and power that we required for this HDTV
application, and we were very satisfied with the high level of customer
support we received from all parties, particularly in assisting us with
developing the transmission plan for this service,” he added.
NHK broadcasts an HDTV channel 24 hours a day. Japanese TV manufacturers
estimate that NHK and commercial broadcasters currently serve a digital
satellite TV (7 HDTV channels and 3 SDTV channels) audience of 1,620,000
households. NHK projects that they will be serving 10,000,000 HDTV
households within three years.
The Intelsat 902 satellite is scheduled for launch in August. This satellite
is one of ten spacecraft that Intelsat is planning to launch over the next
two years. These ten satellites include seven of the Intelsat IX generation,
two Intelsat Xs and the APR-3 satellite that will serve the Asia-Pacific
region. The launch of these satellites will allow Intelsat to create five
new orbital roles.
Harry Mahon, Intelsat Group Director for Worldwide Video Services, speaking
at the National Association of Broadcasters conference held here this week,
commented, “We consider this a very important new service. NHK is a premier
broadcaster, and we are pleased that we were able to satisfy their
requirements. This new link also demonstrates the successful collaboration
between Intelsat, our traditional service providers and the broadcaster
community.”
About Intelsat
Intelsat is an international communications provider offering Internet,
broadcast, telephony and corporate network solutions around the globe
through its fleet of 19 satellites. For nearly four decades, many of the
world’s leading telecommunications companies, multinational corporations and
broadcasters in more than 200 countries and territories have relied on
Intelsat satellites and staff for quality connections, global reach and
reliability.
For further information, please contact us at media.relations@intelsat.com
or at +1 202-944-7500.
Some of the statements in this news release may constitute “forward-looking
statements” that do not directly or exclusively relate to historical facts.
These forward-looking statements reflect our intentions, plans,
expectations, assumptions and beliefs about future events and are subject to
risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside our
control. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from the expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking
statements include known and unknown risks. Because actual results could
differ materially from our intentions, plans, expectations, assumptions and
beliefs about the future, you are urged to view all forward-looking
statements contained in these news releases with caution. Intelsat does not
undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
