I joined in a ******** chat recently, and yesterday this one came. I hope it might be interesting? It's translated.
This is not official
The Vivacom platform will remain at 13E or plans to move to 39E?
03/05/2024
In recent days, new transmitters have been activated in the Eutelsat satellite system of the Hotbird fleet with the offer of the Bulgarian pay TV service Vivacom. The fact is that these are technical tests.
Satellite operator Eutelsat is very keen to acquire a new customer at 13°E, namely the Bulgarian service Vivacom from operator United Group. But so far, despite launching on the Hotbird platform, the contract report has not been mentioned by the parties. However, it is not yet clear whether the platform will play here in the future. Because the Vivacom platform currently offers its services to customers on the Intelsat 38 satellite located at 45 degrees east.
On the other hand, United Group also owns another Bulgarian pay TV channel - Bulsatcom, which broadcasts via satellite Hellas Sat 3 at 39°E. According to unofficial information, Vivacom plans to move the receiving antenna for customers from 45 degrees east to 39 degrees east.
Because there is a reason for choosing the 39°E position: the Hellas Sat 3 satellite signal reaches ERP values of around 54 dBW depending on the location in Bulgaria, while the Hot Bird 13G satellite signal is weaker and only around 50 to 49 dBW has it. In addition, in combination with the existing FEC 5/6, viewers will need larger satellite dishes, which will likely change the FEC parameter and thus reduce the overall capacity to broadcast programs. Therefore, based on the evaluation of the orbital situation, Vivacom is conducting technical tests.
In addition to the unification of the orbital position for Bulgarian pay TV, the Bulcrypt access system used by the Bulsatcom platform is also being dismantled. The reason for disconnecting CA Bulcrypt and changing the receiving device for TV viewers is to increase security against unauthorized reception.
It is worth noting that United Group also owns the Greek pay TV platform Nova (13°E) as well as Total TV in (16°E).