BBC extends digital satellite service

The BBC is stepping up its digital satellite network to increase its World Service audience around the globe, giving its programming more independence from nation states.

A by-product of using WorldSpace's satellites is that in the event of military action there will be no transmitters to destroy and the signal will be difficult to jam.

Nicholas Braden, director of corporate communications at WorldSpace, said: "The system is hard to jam because we control access to the satellite through our feeder link stations. The signal could be jammed country-wide only at great expense. An entity would have to transmit a higher-powered L-band signal terrestrially over the same frequency to jam our signal."

The WorldSpace satellites transmit on the L-band frequency of 1452Mhz to 1492Mhz. The signal is sent at speeds between 16Kbps and 128Kbps. A flat antenna about the size of a saucer on each portable receiver collects the signal.

The system uses the digital transmission format recognised as Digital System D by the International Telecommunications Union. The satellites use proprietary MP3 digital compression, which was developed for WorldSpace by the Mpeg consortium.

The World Service will initially be carried on WorldSpace's AfriStar satellite, which covers Africa and the Middle East, and the BBC will also use the AsiaStar satellite when it becomes operational later in the year.

Chris Gill, BBC World Service controller for technology and resources, said: "We can deliver our programming in digital quality to more people. We are always looking to reach the widest possible audience with the best possible quality. Digital technology is opening up exciting new channels for us."

One drawback is that the digital sets are relatively expensive, costing around $250. WorldSpace said it was following a business plan that would eventually make cheap sets available to poorer people in developing countries.

It plans to launch its third satellite in the first half of 2001.

First published in Network News

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