Solaris Mobile Is Confirmed By EC As ‘Admissible Candidate’ For The Provision Of Mobile Satellite Services

Solaris Mobile Is Confirmed By The European Commission As An ‘Admissible Candidate’ For The Provision Of Mobile Satellite Services And Welcomes The Publication Of New Guidelines For Mobile TV

Solaris Mobile has on, December 19th 2008, been confirmed by the European Commission as an ‘admissible candidate’ for the two-stage application process for the provision of mobile satellite services across Europe.

Solaris Mobile was one of four companies to submit an application to the European Commission in October for the rollout of S-Band Spectrum mobile satellite services, under a single European selection procedure instead of under 27 different national systems. Its confirmation as an admissible candidate underlines the strength of the company’s application.

With a state of the art satellite due to be launched next Spring, Solaris Mobile is the only candidate operator that will meet European Commission expectations that cross border Mobile TV services are likely to start in 2009. The company will be in the unique position of being able to offer mobile satellite services that empower existing and next generation mobile hybrid networks and enable the provision of innovative services to consumers across Europe.

Solaris Mobile is actively establishing together with key industrial partners and media players a harmonised ecosystem to optimize the delivery of mobile TV services, and broadband. The company has also announced that it welcomes the recently published European Commission Guidelines for the provision of mobile TV services in EU countries.

“We look forward to the publication of similar guidelines for mobile satellite services,” says Solaris Mobile Chief Executive Officer Steve Maine. “We would especially support the commitment of the European Commission to award procedure guidelines that are public, transparent and defined in advance, as well as the aspiration that full interoperability and EU-wide mobile TV roaming will be important considerations for mobile TV service providers. The European Commission has also recognised that speed in service delivery will be key for global competitiveness, and therefore we are also in favour of the recommendation that frequencies made available for Mobile TV should be withdrawn if the service has not started within a reasonable time. With a focus on clear guidelines and light regulation, the European Commission is clearly supportive of the rapid roll out of mobile TV across Europe, and this is good news for companies such as Solaris Mobile. ”

FACT FILE
Solaris Mobile, a Eutelsat and SES Astra joint venture, was established earlier this year to develop next generation mobile TV services via satellite. Its corporate headquarters in Dublin officially opened in June 2008. The company plans to provide TV, video and radio plus two-way communication to a variety of handheld and vehicle-mounted mobile devices. Solaris Mobile’s range of services, scheduled for launch in early 2009, is aimed primarily at Broadcasters, Telco operators, the Automotive industry, and Data & Communication providers.

The company intends to operate in a 2.00 GHz frequency band, the S-band, reserved for the exclusive use of satellite and terrestrial mobile services. The S-band sits alongside UMTS frequencies that are already used across Europe for 3G terrestrial services.

Please visit http://www.solarismobile.com/

Daniela Genta
Since the submission of its application, Solaris Mobile has been strengthening its management team, most notably with the appointment of Daniela Genta as Director of Regulatory Affairs. Daniela has over ten years experience in the satellite, telecommunications and space industry.

Happy Christmas to our readers

That's News TV is taking several days off for the Christmas break.

We wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Dreaming Of A High Definition Christmas - Customers Rush To Get The New Freesat+ Box At John Lewis

The new Freesat + box from Humax at John Lewis is selling out as soon as it comes into store, as customers rush to get this new technology in time for Christmas. John Kempner, central buyer for Vision at John Lewis says, “Demand is phenomenal. We sold a box every two minutes when they arrived in store, selling out in less than 48 hours. Stock will be arriving every week and I expect them to fly off the shelves, as customers look to get the most out of their High Definition Ready TV.”

The new FOXSAT HDR Freesat Digital TV Recorder, £292, gives viewers with High Definition Ready TVs the freedom to pause, rewind and record live HD programmes. It stores up to 80 hours of HD programming, while the eight-day on-screen electronic programme guide makes it easy to plan your viewing. Two Freesat channels can even be recorded at the same time.

Freesat offers 140 digital TV & Radio channels including high definition (HD) programming from the BBC and ITV. Freesat is available to 98% of the population, without subscription. For a single, one off payment, you will receive the Freesat digital box or HDTV with Freesat built-in, the satellite dish and installation. Standard installation from John Lewis costs £100.00

The gift that keeps on giving? Food safety message

The economic plans of the governments of the USA, and also the UK, explained, by Fred Thompson.

Former Government Minister Calls For Fairer Deal For Viewers And Programme Makers North Of The Border

On 11 December Rt Hon Lord Macdonald of Tradeston CBE addressed the House of Lords on the Public Service Broadcasting Review. In particular he highlighted that:

A nation such as Scotland should not be reduced to reliance on a single broadcaster for the television reporting of its national and local issues, particularly with political impartiality being such a sensitive matter;

A fairer deal was required for viewers and programme makers north of the border, as well as in Wales and Northern Ireland;

He regrets the Scottish Broadcasting Commission’s failure to propose positive options for Scottish television in the ITV networking arrangements;

Scotland needs the freedom to flex its schedules, which is particularly relevant to stv’s ability to offer a robust alternative option to the news and current affairs output of BBC Scotland;

It is not right that the overwhelming majority of British programmes in the peak-time schedules are produced in England and sourced mainly from London;

It would be helpful to ensure continued stv access to the commissioning process for ITV network programming; and redesignation of stv as an independent producer would encourage the assembly of a critical mass of creative talent in Glasgow;

He wants an opportunity for the House of Lords to discuss early in 2009 the report of the Scottish Broadcasting Commission and the future of PSB in Scotland.

The full transcript of his speech is set out below:

Turning to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Ofcom has just completed its consultation on phase two of its public service broadcasting review. I want to remind Ministers of the particular problems facing public service broadcasting in Scotland. Some of these problems are not new, as I know from experience. Before entering your Lordships’ House in 1998, I was chairman of Scottish Media Group which held the licences to broadcast on the ITV network in Scotland. During many years of producing programmes and broadcasting, my longest and least successful campaign was to get a fairer deal for viewers and programme makers north of the border. The same arguments hold for Wales and Northern Ireland.

Surely it is not right that, on the public service networks of the United Kingdom, the overwhelming majority of British programmes in the peak-time schedules are produced in England and sourced mainly from London. While viewers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland make up about 17 per cent of television audiences in the United Kingdom—and 17 per cent of BBC licence payers—the percentage of programming in the peak-time schedules is probably closer to 1 per cent than 17 per cent. In defence of this imbalance, defenders of the status quo often argue that these three home nations all broadcast more local programmes inside their borders than is the case for the regions of England. But surely that is to argue that while England broadcasts across the UK to the other nations, those nations should be happy just talking to themselves, sometimes in Welsh, very occasionally in Gaelic.

The big budget programming, the lavish dramas, ambitious documentary and current affairs series, are almost all produced in England across all the networks, BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5 and ITV. I appreciate that yet again promises are being extracted from the BBC and Channel 4 to source more programmes from outside England and to make the marginalisation of the Celtic nations a little less blatant. Well, we shall see. We have been disappointed before. Little wonder, that after decades of lobbying and continual frustration, the Scottish Broadcasting Commission was set up in Edinburgh and recently recommended a raft of initiatives including the creation of a dedicated digital channel for Scotland.

Since my priority is still to make the UK network output a bit more British, I regret the commission’s failure to propose positive options for Scottish television in the ITV networking arrangements. Having requested a debate on the future of public service broadcasting in Scotland, I hope your Lordships will have an opportunity to discuss early in 2009 the report of the Scottish Broadcasting Commission and indeed the future of PSB in Scotland.

However, my purpose today is to draw attention to immediate problems in the ITV network. Sadly, this once robust federal system of regional producers and broadcasters is now increasingly consolidated into one network company, ITV plc, based in London. Sharing the same Channel 3 network and still independent, but now on the margins of consolidated ITV, are Ulster Television, Scottish Television and Channel Television. There are inexorable commercial pressures reducing both the audiences and the advertising income of ITV. I do not underestimate the threat, and I applaud the efforts made by ITV to maintain its large output of British-made programming.

My concern is that the important national role played by Scottish Television should not be further impaired by attempts to address these, admittedly serious, difficulties at ITV. At a time of potential tension over the balance and fairness of current arrangements between Governments in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, I would ask Ofcom and the DCMS to be prepared to question ITV plc’s demand for a single ITV brand covering all the UK. The interests of viewers in Scotland might well require dedicated programming and opt-outs from the network schedule. That means that it needs the freedom to flex its schedules, which is particularly relevant to STV’s ability to offer a robust alternative option to the news and current affairs output of BBC Scotland. A nation such as Scotland should not be reduced to reliance on a single broadcaster for the television reporting of its national and local issues, particularly with political impartiality being such a sensitive matter. I hope that STV can marshal the resources to do all that well. I ask Ofcom also to examine sceptically the claim that ITV plc subsidises the surviving independent companies on channel 3, which seems to be disputed my old company, STV, and Ulster Television.

It would also be helpful to ensure continued STV access to the commissioning process for ITV network programming. Ten years ago, we had a thriving production business based in Glasgow, operating on commissions from the ITV Network Centre—“Taggart” is perhaps the sole notable survivor. On the evidence of past ability to contribute useful shows to the network schedule, it is not asking much of ITV today that the door should at least be kept open.

Additionally, Ministers and Ofcom could use their good offices to encourage a further increase in Scotland’s presence on UK screens. At present, STV’s surviving production operation is constrained in bidding for commissions from the BBC and Channel 4 because of its link to a relatively small broadcaster parent. Redesignation as an independent producer would encourage the assembly of a critical mass of creative talent in Glasgow which might compete on even terms with the rest of the independent production sector based largely in London.

I conclude by inviting the Minister to agree that in an area of such cultural, social and political significance as television broadcasting the Government would welcome initiatives calculated to give programmes made in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland a proper place on UK screens.

The First Home Based Business Course From The Business Channel

In a UK first, The Business Channel is proud to offer access to a Home Step By Step Course for aspiring Home Based Entrepreneurs, specifically designed for anyone wanting to start a full or part time business from home.

The Cash On Demand® Course, created and written by Award Winning Self Made Multi-Millionaire Andrew Reynolds, shows the system he used when starting a part time business in his spare room – a business which has brought in over £30Million in just 10 years. The Business Channel viewers can watch an interview hosted by Paul Lavers and also get the chance to claim a free package of Cash On Demand training DVDs, CDs and a 90 page manual

On the DVDs you’ll get a chance to see Andrew Reynolds ‘live’ on stage showing exactly how his Cash On Demand® system works and how you can copy what he does in your own home.

The Cash On Demand® interview will be airing at several convenient times during the next four weeks, including over the coming holiday break and this unique programme includes a special phone number and website where you can claim your free package of materials to get you started in the New Year. First transmission: Monday December 15th at 10pm with repeats until further notice.

Onthebox.Com Re-Launches To Become An All-Inclusive Entertainment Site

www.OntheBox.com, the UK TV listings portal, today announced it has re-launched, introducing a range of new and improved features, including cinema and radio listings. The site unites everything to do with entertainment; from film, TV and radio listings to reviews, previews, news features and exclusive video content, in one place. The well-established site now has the number one ranking on Google for ‘TV listing/s’ on a Google search.

Users can now search for cinema listings by film, location and cinema chain, and can access www.OntheBox.com’s massive database of information on film casts, movie stars’ biographies, film synopses and photos. Visitors can also find comprehensive UK radio listings, complete with detailed show information and alerts that slot straight into their Outlook calendars. Furthermore, www.OntheBox.com has improved its search engine functionality, allowing users to quickly find the information they want across TV, cinema and radio listings.

With these additional interactive features, www.OntheBox.com is now the UK’s most comprehensive entertainment listings site, while still remaining an easy-to-use resource for all visitors. Initially launched in 2000 and owned by Media Corporation plc, www.OntheBox.com receives 1.5 million unique users and over 5 million page views per month.

Justin Drummond, CEO, Media Corporation plc, commented: “Users are increasingly sophisticated and it is critical to keep up with Web 2.0 standards as well as editorial ones. That means offering layers of interesting, related content so that as well as our listings we have daily reviews, news and features and have introduced unique video content that covers everything, from star interviews at red carpet events, to vox pops of users’ views on current issues such as the Brand/Ross debacle. Never resting on our laurels or on the well-established brand of OntheBox.com, we are constantly striving to improve the site in order to achieve our goal, which is to be the ultimate entertainment industry resource on the net.”

The revamped TV listings interface has been simplified despite the introduction of greater functionality, such as the ability to customise layouts with just a few mouse clicks. Listings can be viewed in a list or grid format and channels can be added or removed, depending on user preferences. By following a simple registration process, users can return to their personalised settings every time they visit the site. The new interface includes recommended listings by entertainment sectors such as sport, entertainment or news channels, allowing users to quickly scan channels in their area of interest. Shows can be highlighted by genre, allowing users to quickly source specific shows on channels with varied content.

The newly appointed editorial team is driving unique and exclusive content across the site. The new feature ‘TV Highlights’ gives users daily recommendations, inside news, analyses, features, rants and reviews from the week’s television, which may be accessed from the home page. The ‘Film Highlights’ feature keeps users up to date with the latest film reviews and news. Users can also get the hottest information direct to their inbox with OntheBox.com’s weekly newsletter, allowing them to stay informed without having to proactively search for the information themselves.

OntheBox.com allows users to:
- View TV listings – for over 250 channels, including terrestrial, digital, satellite and regional channels.
- View UK cinema listings – searching listings by film, area, cinema chain
- View radio listings – for 25 of the most popular UK radio stations
- Watch TV programmes online – streaming TV
- Watch films online - streaming movies
- Listen to UK radio stations live and online
- Watch regular unique video content
- Enter and read comments next to every programme that is listed
- Write blogs with opinions on any TV programme or film
- Get daily recommendation on what to watch on TV from ‘TV Highlights’
- Find all the latest film reviews in the ‘Film Highlights’ section
- Register and sign up for the weekly newsletter delivered direct to your inbox
- Receive email or SMS alerts before a specific programme starts
- Customise the TV listings layout according to their favourite channels
- Create a list of ‘favourite’ TV listings pages that users can revisit at any time
- Search through archives of past TV listings, and blogs up to five months prior
- Search an extensive movie database with information on film casts, biographies, synopses and photos
- Read the soaps’ latest gossip in the ‘SoapBox’

About OntheBox.com
OntheBox.com is the UK’s most comprehensive and interactive entertainment portal providing a one-stop-shop for anything to do with TV, film and radio past, present and future. Owned by Media Corporation plc, OntheBox.com was established in 2000 and now has the number one ranking on search engines for UK TV listings.

OntheBox.com receives 1.5 million unique users and over 5 million page views per month. The site has a 50% retention rate, which indicates a high level of relevance and usefulness.

Advertisers on OntheBox.com benefit from a large and diverse audience and extensive capability for running rich media adverts, such as MPUs, which achieve a high average click-through rate. Site sponsorship packages are available alongside specific programme or genre-targeted advertising.

For more information, please visit www.onthebox.com.