By 2010 Chinese subscribers of direct satellite television will
exceed 15 million, according to a report published on
Wednesday.
In the first six months of 2006 Chinese subscribers of cable TV
had reached 140 million. Two thirds of households still receive
wireless TV signals and some regions receive no signals, says the
2006-2007 Report on China's Satellite Television Industry.
It notes that direct satellite television has an advantage in
signal coverage and can be applied in commercial operations. The
government and broadcasting industry are discussing policies.
The report was jointly compiled by a publication owned by the
State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and a research
and consulting institute specializing in digital TV called GL
Research.
China launched a new-generation, high-power communications and
broadcast satellite named SinoSat-2 on October 29 but it failed to
go into operation because of problems with its solar power
panels.
It was developed by the Chinese Research Institute of Space
Technology and designed to serve broadcast, digital and satellite
TV and digital broadband multimedia systems on the Chinese
mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. It had been designed to
operate for 15 years.
A substitute satellite, SinoSat-3, would take at least three
years to develop, said an expert on Tuesday.
(Xinhua News Agency November 30, 2006)