[teewHettive]

It's clear, it's cheap, but not yet fully legal

The Nation, Published on Jul 4, 2004

For as little as Bt100 a month, people upcountry can watch "free" TV clearly and have a wide choice of international programmes from local cable-TV providers.

The market for cable-TV services in the provinces has been increasing for some time. Currently, there are more than 500 providers - both legal and illegal - throughout the country.

"Due to the ease of getting themselves established and the Bt1 million-Bt2 million investment, many small cable-TV providers exist, even at the community level," said Bumroong Wasontakorn, president of the Thai Cable TV Association.

"Local cable-TV providers have attracted an audience because they can offer local-content programmes and the monthly payments are inexpensive," he said.

Although there are still disputes between provincial cable-TV operators and national operator UBC over purchasing copyright from foreign channels, 78 authorised operators and more than 300 unauthorised entities continue to provide local cable networks, with a monthly service charge ranging from Bt100-Bt350, to rural households.

Today, more than 4 million households in the provinces have cable TV.

"The provincial cable-TV industry will continue to boom in the next few years as it can offer over 60 channels with diverse programmes day and night," says Tebate Mekvichai, secretary-general of the Thailand Cable TV Association.

To create a unified network of provincial cable TVs, fibre-optic cables will be used to transmit signals to members in key cities.

"We look at provincial cable TV as a choice for people upcountry, providing knowledge and information in local communities," Tebate said.

"However, community cable TV is not yet fully legal due to the delay in appointing members of the National Broadcasting Commission [the industry regulator]," he added.

Pathomkanok Padkuntod,

Theeranuch Pusaksrikit

THE NATION

[juyrett]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe I read here or elsewhere a while back that Thaksin Shinawatra was getting into the telecommunications business. Maybe I'm seeing some shadiness that doesn't actually exist, but in effect, don't these two Nation articles represent free advertising for his venture? How cozy is the relationship between the PM and The Nation?

[teewHettive]

For those in the know sky is the limit

The Nation, Published on Jul 4, 2004

Non-UBC satellite TV subscribers have access to 300 stations, several in Thai

Remember the good old days when there were only four TV channels - 3, 5, 7 and 9 - and your only concern was making sure the picture on your set wasn't too blurry?

But in this era of information technology, you can be overwhelmed with TV channels - if you have the money to invest in a good satellite dish equipped with a sophisticated receiver that can tune into one of some 25 birds orbiting Thailand.

Where satellite broadcasting is concerned, the sky literally is the limit. A local firm that makes satellite dishes and receivers counts over 300 channels of unscrambled TV signals beamed into Thailand from some 25 satellites.

As a result, while arguments rage over TV stations expanding into new satellite channels, a group of people in the know has already been tuning in to more than 300 of them.

Several are broadcast in Thai, and at least three adult movie stations are accessible in Thailand via yearly subscription rates that run from Bt5,000 to Bt6,000. These are Bluekiss, ST1 and Free XTV, which sell subscription access cards via websites.

The satellite subscribers even have their own Web board where they share technical information on how to tune in.

Even the controversial Dhamakaya Temple has its own channel beamed from the ThaiCom 3 satellite.

Members of the Web board said they had discovered a new satellite channel dedicated to Thai boxing broadcasts.

For those who desire English news, the satellite TV audience get signals from channels such as BBC World, NHK World and CNN International.

Satellite television is broadcast in two frequency bandwidths: C-band and KU-band. The signals are beamed down in either analogue or digital formats.

C-band signals require a bigger satellite dish, but the C-band's footprint is much larger than that of the KU-band. Depending on the location, a KU-band system can mostly receive signals from only ThaiCom 2/3 satellites, while a C-band dish can receive many more signals.

Some manufacturers have made products that receive both C-band and KU-band channels in both analogue and digital formats. This kind of system has become a hit amongst the satellite TV audience.

The manufacturers have also equipped their products with automatic tracking systems that turn disks to the best angle to receive signals from specific channels.

While a KU-band-only digital broadcast system runs at about Bt6,000, the price of a sophisticated all-in-one system with moveable dish ranges from Bt15,000 to Bt20,000.

However, as members of the "Thai satellite problem" Web board put it, most of the free-to-air satellite channels accessible in Thailand are "rubbish", mere repetitions of terrestrial TV from the countries where those channels originate. Most of them are also broadcast in local languages, such as Hindi, Chinese and Nepalese.

As a result, the members of the Web board are ogling subscription satellite television. These subscription channels are encrypted with digital codes, but the satellite TV audience - with the help of some manufacturers - has been able to decode the signals and watch for free.

Two popular subscription stations are Malaysia's Astro and the Dream DTH network from the Philippines. These two stations, according to the Web board, have similar programmes to UBC, except they are broadcast in English.

New model receivers have built-in decoders, which automatically search for keys that decode encrypted signals. Those with older models have to use remote controls to key in a decoding sequence and ask for the codes from friends on the Web board.

The price of a system with the automatic decoding capability, which can be ordered through the websites that support the Web board, is about Bt6,900.

But there is a risk. The Astro and Dream stations still use old encrypting software. Once they upgrade their security, viewers will find it hard to hack in and watch their programmes for free.

"What if I invest in an Astro system and then they change the encryption to version 2?" said a message on the Web board.

"Don't worry, you will still be able to use the system to watch free-to-air stations. Moreover, it will take months for them to upgrade the encryption. Still, if they do, I believe Thai programmers are good enough to hack them," came the reply.

And messages on the board indicate that the free viewers are eyeing UBC, but they admit that they have failed to break the Irdeto 2 encryption application, the hardest encryption to crack thus far.

Meanwhile, Jirawan Chenaphun, a manager of satellite-dish maker Dynasat, said demand for satellite TVs had been growing strongly in the past decade with 40 per cent of customers belonging to upper-low-income groups, 50 per cent to middle-income groups and the rest upper-income earners.

With a proper dish, you can access 50-60 channels of international programmes after investing a one-time fee of Bt10,000-Bt30,000 in a system.

"Most satellite TV watchers want news and up-to-date foreign information, but entertainment channels are always reliable, " she said, adding that continual technological development and increased competition will spur demand for new satellite TVs.

Trinai Kajornkiatniyom, marketing manager of satellite TV firm PSI Holding, said prices for systems had dropped from Bt50,000 to Bt10,000.

"This year's sales have increased 50 per cent from the same period last year. Our main target group is sports lovers because those audiences don't face a language barrier. They can watch the programmes in Indonesian or Indian languages," he said, adding that this month PSI will launch a new satellite package focusing on housewives. They can watch more than 30 channels for free after paying a one-time fee of Bt8,500.

Trinai said the price was expected to fall as low as Bt5,000 per system soon.

Paisal Chuenprasaeng

THE NATION