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To: RocketMan who wrote (2580)	12/14/1998 4:58:00 PM
From: Frank A. Coluccio	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12823

RM, I may be wrong,but while your logic makes sense to me, I seem to feel that your numbers are off... either that or I've got to brush up on my MPEG. >> That bandwidth has to be divided among 100+TV channels, which takes 100-500Kbps each, depending on the level of MPEG compression. << I'd have thought that, depending on what kind of content was being aired, the "compressed" data rates would have been in the range between 0.7 Mbps and 6.3 Mbps to approximate "broadcast quality" or NTSC-grade (or better) video. Maybe I'm thinking baseband, unoptimized, here. Please advise. Thanks. Regards, Frank C.

To: RocketMan who wrote (2580)	12/14/1998 9:10:00 PM
From: ftth	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 12823

Hi RM, Hughes has 3 orbiting HS-601 satellites, called DBS1,2, and 3. DBS3 is an in-orbit spare (in a full-CONUS orbital slot, i.e. Full CONtinental US coverage), which I believe has always (it was launched 6/95) been targeted for future services. Perhaps the full payload will be dedicated to data delivery? It would be in the 1Gb/s capacity area (download). Maybe the USSB uplink facility in Oakdale, MN will become their data facility? Makes some sense not to try and cram that in with the Castle Rock,CO uplink facility. USSB owns (or owned after the merger) 5 of the 120W transponders on DBS1 already (FCC regs require broadcasters to own their broadcast facilities). DirecTV has been issued 54 broadcast frequencies by the FCC (these numbers are dynamic as there are swaps and deals between players often). So I don't see the big gain from re-acquiring property they once owned anyway (assuming programming stays the same). USSB is hardly a cash cow so the deal doesn't make a great deal of sense on cursory look. Maybe the sense lies in the plans DirecTV has for those transponders after they integrate or punt most of the USSB services. Also, a ballpark average of 2.5 Mb/s is fairly accurate for TV if you want a typical number, but it is tweaked based on relative amount of motion. (Oops! I see you addressed some of these already...I should read ALL the day's posts before I post) dh