Portugal Telecom plans DTH service for March 2008
November 15, 2007
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
In expectation of the launch of the tender that will award DTT licences, Portugal Telecom is also considering the launch of a satellite TV service with 120 channels.
The new DTH offer, which could be launched in March 2008, would compete with TV Cabo, a company that has just separated from the PT Group and which has more than 80 per cent of the Portuguese pay-TV market. According to local daily 'Diario de Noticias', the satellite TV offer is one of the options being discussed by the PT management, together with the launch of DTT services, depending on the results of the tender that will take place in the first quarter of next year.
The new digital satellite service would be complementary to Meo, PT's triple-play offering (TV, Internet and fixed telephony). Meo's main problem is that requires a minimum speed of 8 Mbps, thus limiting its expansion throughout Portugal. When the triple-play service launched, PT managers announced that the goal was to have 30,000 subscribers at the end of this year and 100,000 by the end of 2008.