China will launch direct broadcasting satellite (Sinosat-2) this month

[BGonaSTICK]

China will launch its first direct broadcasting satellite this month in a move that could end a nationwide ban on the use of private satellite dishes, state press said today. The Sinosat-2 will be launched on October 29 from the Xichang launch centre in southwestern China’s Sichuan province, and is designed to bring television signals to “every farming household” in the nation, Xinhua news agency reported.

“The satellite will enable every farming household to receive TV signals using a small dish, thereby bringing educational programmes and even remote medical services to farmers,” the report quoted Sun Laiyan, chief of the China National Space Administration, as saying.

Sinosat-2 will have a 15-year mission life and will provide TV and radio transmissions, digital films, direct TV and digital broadband, the report said, citing SINO Satellite Communications Co Ltd (Sinosat), the satellite’s Beijing-based state-owned operator.

The launch of the satellite could lead to the repeal of a ban on the individual use of satellite dishes, it said. The ban is widely ignored both in urban and rural areas. Industry analysts predict that once individuals are allowed to install satellite dishes, up to 100 million households will do so between 2006 and 2010, the report said. China currently has about 400 million television sets, a huge potential market for satellite TV, it added.