Zenith uses C-Cube chips. The new Broadcom chip is not designed for satelite..................................
multichannel.com
Daily Update for May 10, 2000:
BellSouth Plans Regional DTH Service
Atlanta -- BellSouth Corp. announced plans Tuesday to make its own direct-to-home satellite service available to 14 million homes in its nine-state telephone-service territory in the Southeast beginning next year.
Following weeks of speculation on its satellite-video plans, BellSouth said it has signed a multiyear agreement with GE American Communications Inc. (GE Americom) to lease satellite spectrum on several yet-to-be-launched satellites.
BellSouth plans to compete against cable and direct-broadcast satellite with a bundled offer of video, voice, wireless and data on a single bill.
Instead of striking a marketing partnership with an existing DBS provider, as other regional Bell operating companies have done, BellSouth decided to operate the service on its own, giving it the ability to tailor its own content to meet the demands of its customers.
BellSouth plans to make local-to-local service available to 90 percent of its service territory, and to comply with must-carry requirements.
BellSouth Entertainment president Bob Frame said the company would begin working on retransmission-consent agreements immediately, adding that it has done similar negotiations for its earlier video services.
The company plans to roll out its satellite service on a market-by-market basis, but it declined to disclose initial cities.
BellSouth plans to talk with a number of digital set-top vendors for potential hardware deals, including its current suppliers, Zenith Electronics Corp. and Pace Micro Technology plc, Frame said.
- 5/10/00
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