Americast Partner going wireless next year......................................
amcity.com
November 3, 1997
BellSouth TV system to compete with other services
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Lynn Birkett
Local satellite dish companies and TKR of Greater Louisville will have some new competition for subscribers in the Louisville area come late next year.
Louisville-area television viewers will have another option for programming when BellSouth Corp. introduces its new digital, wireless cable system in late 1998.
Ellen Jones, a manager for BellSouth in Louisville, referred all questions to the company's Atlanta office because, she said, the system was so new, her office did not have information on rates and programming.
The new cable system, called "BellSouth Presents Americast," is still in the planning stage, said Debra Spicer, spokeswoman for Atlanta-based BellSouth. But Chris Anderson, director of strategic communications for BellSouth Entertainment, a subsidiary also based in Atlanta, said the new system will offer viewers "better sound, a better picture, and a number of channels and services that are very competitive."
As part of the company's strategy to offer cable services, BellSouth acquired the assets of American Telecasting Inc., a wireless cable provider, in seven markets earlier this year, Spicer said. The purchase included the company's operations and rights to wireless cable licenses in Louisville and six cities in Florida -- Jacksonville, Orlando, Daytona, Fort Myers, Lakeland and Bradenton.
BellSouth hasn't determined where the facilities for the new cable system in Louisville will be, but "we are evaluating the assets from American Telecasting in order to upgrade them to meet the needs of Louisville," Spicer said.
Anderson said it is too early to say what the rates for the new service will be, how many channels the system will carry, and exactly how many homes in the area will have access to the new system.
Louisville will be the third city to receive BellSouth's new cable service, Anderson said.
"We are just rolling out our first system in New Orleans," he said. "We will go public in New Orleans at the end of 1997, and soon after we will have a system in Atlanta."
He said the company hopes to have the Louisville system working in mid- to late-1998.
How it works
The technology employed in BellSouth's new cable system is called multipoint, multichannel distribution system, or MMDS.
A transmitter can reach subscribers up to about 30 to 40 miles from the transmitter, Anderson said. The technology is similar to that used by local television stations. The position for BellSouth's Louisville transmitter has not been determined, he said.
The BellSouth MMDS system is digital, which, Anderson said, will allow for "many more channels than the technology has transmitted in the past" and more than can be transmitted by local television stations.
MMDS is not a new technology, said Phillip Sirlin, telecommunications analyst for Schorder and Co., a New York City-based industry analyst.
"MMDS was first used in education as a way to provide programming to colleges, universities and other educational institutions," Sirlin said. "It has been around since the '70s, and it was originally analog."
He said MMDS cable systems are operating now in California.
To receive the signal, subscribers will be equipped with a digital receiver and an antenna, which can be placed on the home or at a high point on the subscriber's property.
Anderson said the antennas are "aesthetically pleasing, ranging in size from 5-by-8 inches to 14-by-8 inches."
Which size a subscriber uses depends on the distance from the signal, he said.
Similar to satellite services, BellSouth cable subscribers will pay a start-up cost for use and installation of the antenna and receiver. The equipment will be rented from BellSouth, Anderson said.
The digital receiver serves many of the same functions as a hard-wire cable set-top box or satellite receiver. It allows the viewer to change channels, but it also will be connected to the subscriber's phone line.
Through the use of a smart card, which is similar to an ATM card, subscribers can order movies on demand, a service similar to pay-per-view, through the digital receiver, Anderson said.
The receiver also is equipped with software to process the digital signal to create the picture on the television, which "makes for a clearer, brighter picture," Anderson said.
As with cable, BellSouth subscribers will be able to receive broadcasts of local stations. Anderson noted that one of the complaints about satellite systems is that they don't include local broadcasts.
Once the system is in place in Louisville, customers will be able to subscribe to the service at any of the locations where they now use BellSouth services, such as BellSouth mobility stores and BellSouth customer service offices.
Customers also will have the choice of paying for the service with their phone bill or separately. "This will make for convenient, seamless service across the board," Anderson said.
Anderson said the hardware and software for the new system was developed through an 18-month partnership called Americast. The companies involved in the partnership are BellSouth, GTE, Ameritech, SBC, Southern New England Telephone and Walt Disney Co.
"All the partners worked together, and there is a core staff of people with technological expertise and expertise in the entertainment industry," he said.
MMDS vs. cable and satellite
Charlie King, vice president of TKR of Greater Louisville, said: "When a competitor with the resources of BellSouth comes in, you have to take note."
But King said one of the drawbacks to MMDS is that it is a line-of-sight system.
Sirlin agrees. "There is the question of how many homes in the area can get a clear line of sight, and that can vary. MMDS signals tend to get blocked by hills, buildings and even large trees."
Anderson said that mounting the antenna for BellSouth's system involves the use of a compass and a signal meter, which can determine the strength of the signal in relation to the home. He said that mounting the MMDS antenna is not as precise as mounting a satellite dish.
Also, Anderson said, the Louisville MMDS transmitter will be placed in an optimal place to reach the majority of customers in the area.
Katy Stephens, spokesperson for Bala Cynwyd, Pa.-based Primestar Partners LP, a satellite service, said, "We welcome any additional competition. It makes for a wiser consumer. When customers research their options, they are going to realize Primestar offers a lot more channels. And this is what the consumer is looking for."
Stephens said Primestar offers subscribers 160 channels.
Anderson said the BellSouth system that will be launched in New Orleans will offer viewers 150 channels plus local programming.
Sirlin said another issue wireless cable providers have to face is how well a new system can compete with an established cable provider.
Anderson said BellSouth will offer national programming that includes movie and entertainment channels available on cable and satellite television, such as A&E and Nickelodeon.
King said the new system TKR is building as part of its rebuilding effort gives TKR a "platform to compete with any telecommunications provider."
"A wireless cable subscriber has to deal with electronic boxes and adding an antenna, where adding another subscriber to wired cable is a lot cheaper and easier -- you just add another wire from the cable," Sirlin said.
MMDS systems that have been successful have been in areas where no cable system exists or where the cable operator has not done well, Sirlin said.
He said that to be successful, an MMDS cable provider needs to have a better price and better quality than the existing operator.
c 1997, Business First |
