Europe, Headend in the sky. They need encoders.........................
multichannel.com
Weekly Edition for June 1, 1998:
UIH Plans Headend in Sky for Europe
By WILLIAM MAHONEY
London -- The European division of global cable operator United International Holdings Inc. is about to unveil an extensive strategy to launch a digital-programming-distribution project in Europe styled after Tele-Communications Inc.'s Headend in the Sky venture in the United States.
Mark Schneider, president and CEO of UIH's United Pan-Europe Communication (UPC), based here, confirmed that UPC is finalizing plans to launch a "digital center to distribute programming and Internet product to digital set-tops," with the service to be uplinked from the Amsterdam area. Schneider said final negotiations with equipment vendors and programmers are under way, which will likely result in a formal announcement of the project shortly.
"We did an RFP [request for proposals] in January, and we're pretty much done with the process of selecting the equipment vendors and the location, and even the boxes that we want to use," Schneider said. "We're focusing on finishing that process by July. As long as our orders are in by July, we figure that we can launch within a year."
Tony White, vice president and managing director of General Instrument (Europe) Ltd. in Reading, England, which is one of the companies in the running, called the UPC effort "a project of extreme importance" to the European industry.
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