The Anik E1 blowout left ExpressVu in the lurch but the water’s fine for any and all specialty applicants in search of space for its digitized signal, says Telesat Canada.

Only 9 c-band and 10-ku band channels are operational on E1, but Anik E2 has the full 24 c-band and 32 ku-bands in working order and clients are converting to digital at a rate that has cleared ample space for national distribution for at least a dozen new specialties, says Telesat’s Paul Bush.

A compressed specialty service takes up only one-sixth or one-seventh of a transponder and at this point, about 50% to 60% of the Anik E2 and remaining Anik E1 services are in compressed form.

‘We can easily accommodate new specialty channels and there should be no limitations put on the number licensed because of space considerations at Telesat,’ says Bush.

The dvc transmission of the new licensees nailed down, whence cometh a viable Canadian dth service and its potential alternative revenue stream is still tba.

Although Bush will not confirm, sources say within days, Telesat will announce its plans to launch direct broadcast satellites into the 82 and 91 degree slot positions. Telesat is expected to own the hardware, but will come in with u.s. companies in place prepared to buy about two-thirds of the 64 new transponders. Potential partners are thought to be u.s. telco monoliths Nynex and Bell Atlantic.

Although Telesat has come under fire for selling transponder space to the Americans, satellite mechanics it strongly opposed at last year’s dth hearings, Bush says the cost of the dbs satellite leaves little choice.

‘People keep saying why shouldn’t Canadian distributors use all of the channels. Well, exactly how many Canadians are willing to pay four times the cost of the Aniks? It’s not a question of how many channels can be made available to the Canadian distributors; it’s how many are they are willing to pay for.’

dbs space will run $5 million to $6 million per channel per year, making the specialties’ dvc rental of about $600,000 for a six megabit digital signal look like a walk in the park.

The cost of both putting the bird in the air and buying transponder space means the u.s. is going to have a hand in the ‘Canadian’ dth industry, says Bush. The industry has evolved so that ExpressVu will not be able to afford to go up without a u.s. partner (talks thought in process with mci), and Telesat won’t be able to offer satellite space without the Americans’ help for two to three years.

‘There has to be a Canadian and a u.s. partner on both the supplier and provider side to make this work,’ says Bush. ‘If we don’t do it this year, we’re out of the dth game.’ AV