COMPANY REPORT

TV Satellite Operator

Chinasatcom

A few of

Chinasatcom's
satellite dishes
at their Beijing
headquarters

All satellite TV channels in China utilize

satellites from Chinasatcom
Free capacity offered internationally for
the first time
Initial steps to becoming an
internationally active satellite provider
Especially interesting for programming
providers in the Middle East, Eastern Africa
and Southeast Asia

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COMPANY REPORT

TV Satellite Operator

Chinese Satellite
Provider
Expanding

Beijing

Every TV channel in China that is

broadcast via satellite utilizes the satellites from national satellite provider
Chinasatcom. Up until now, the domestic Chinese market was good enough
for this operator but they have begun
expanding into the international market albeit very carefully and in very
small steps. To learn more about this
we paid a visit to Chinasatcoms headquarters in Beijing, China.
In the 1980s, Chinasatcoms predecessor company took over the task of
providing China with satellite services.
Back then it was mostly telephony
and data traffic. The first TV channels
started broadcasting in the 1990s and
in 2001 Chinasatcom (China Satellite
Communications Co., Ltd.) was officially founded as a subsidiary to the
national Chinese space authority China
Aerospace Science. Chinasatcom operates the fleet of CHINASAT satellites
and is also involved with the operator
(headquartered in Hong Kong) of the
APSTAR satellites.
Chinasatcoms headquarters can be
found in the enormous Xibeiwang IT
park northwest of Beijing. Many other
IT firms such as the computer manufacturer Lenovo and the Chinese Internet search engine Baidu can also be
found here.
Chinasatcom erected their control
center on their grounds right next to
the satellite dishes from the China Meteorological Authority. Chinasatcoms
fleet of satellites are all controlled with
more than 30 very large 15-meter
dishes and many more smaller satellite dishes.
We met up with Yang Tao in the main
building. He is the Deputy General
Manager in the Sales Department and
from him we learn more about Chinasatcom: All Chinese satellite TV chan138 TELE-audiovision International The Worlds Leading Digital TV Industry Publication 01-02/2015 www.TELE-audiovision.com

Yang Tao is

Chinasatcom's
Deputy General
Manager

nels use our satellites. At the moment

there are more than 340 TV channels
that use our satellites. The company
employs 260 workers. We operate another control center in Shahe, about
20km from here.
Yang Tao tells us more about their expansion into the international market:
We are perfectly equipped for the Chinese market and want to start growing
internationally. Its the unused capacity on CHINASAT 12 at 87.5 east that
makes international expansion possible. This satellite has capacity in the
C-band that we can make available inexpensively.
Naturally, the primary market for
Chinasatcoms satellites has been up
until now the Chinese domestic market
and some surrounding areas in Southeast Asia. But the increasing globalization also tempted Chinasatcom to ex-

1. Zhang Yu is Chinasatcom's Senior Sales Manager and is responsible for marketing

the available capacity on CHINASAT 12. Programming providers that are interested can
contact him directly via e-mail at zhangyu@chinasatcom.com
2. Olivia Chan from the PR department is seen here standing in front of Chinasatcom's
street sign

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3. Chinasatcom's
main entrance in
Xibeiwang in the
Haidian District
northwest of
Beijing.
4. Chinasatcom's
main lobby

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 A look in Chinasatcom's

control center. From here

all of the Chinasat series of
satellites, among other things,
are controlled.

pand. Were in no rush and are under

no pressure; instead were taking one
small step at a time, says Yang Tao,
Thanks to our partnership with Apstar,
were already in the international market.
Zhang Yu explains the companys
sales strategy to us. He is their Senior Sales Manager and tells us: We are
mostly interested in new programming
providers that are not already working with another satellite operator. We
are able to offer them very attractive
terms.
The footprint for the CHINASAT 12
satellite is perfect for programming
providers in the Middle East, eastern
Africa and all of Southeast Asia. Future
satellites would allow us to serve other
areas, adds Yang Tao as he provides
a glimpse into Chinasatcoms long term
plans for the future.
By moving from the domestic Chinese
market into the international market,
Chinasatcom has taken the first step to
becoming a satellite provider to broadcasters outside of China.

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Chinasatcom's
Satellites
CHINASAT 5A:
CHINASAT 5C:
CHINASAT 5D:
CHINASAT 5E:
CHINASAT 6A:
CHINASAT 6B:
CHINASAT 9:
CHINASaT 10:
CHINASAT 11:
CHINASAT 12:
CHINASAT M:

142E
3E
51.5E
163E
125E
115.5E
92.2E
110.5E
not yet defined
87.5E
not yet defined

Note: The APSTAR satellites are

operated in a cooperative effort

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CHINASAT

12 footprint in
the C-band.
Transponders on
these beams still
have free capacity.

More than 30 large 15-meter dishes are erected on

Chinasatcom's grounds, even an 18-meter dish is
operated by Chinasatcom from here.

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