MagtiSat, Georgia’s domestic Direct-To-Home (DTH) satellite platform was launched by MagtiCom and SES (News - Alert). The DTH will be made available via the ASTRA satellites, which are owned and operated by SES.

SES is a prominent satellite operator with a fleet of 49 geostationary satellites. It provides satellite communication services to varied ventures like broadcasters, content and Internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators and business and government organizations globally. The global fleet of SES satellites is supplemented by a network of teleports which allows customers to reach 99 percent of the world's population. MagtiCom provides optimum mobile and fixed telecommunication services and covers 98 percent of the populated territory of Georgia.

To commence Georgia’s first DTH platform, MagtiCom will provide 75 TV channels and has included most popular Standard Definition (SD) and high-definition (HD) channels. MagtiCom will initially provide three package: Start, Basic and HD.

In a release, Ferenc Szelenyi, Senior Vice President, Commercial Europe, at SES, said, “SES is pleased that MagtiCom has chosen ASTRA to help launch the first DTH platform to offer satellite digital television throughout Georgia. The success of MagtiCom in the telecommunications industry combined with our experience in DTH broadcasting will boost the growth of pay-TV in the market.”

As per the agreement between SES and MagtiCom, several ASTRA transponders orbitally positioned at 31.5 degrees East will be utilized for Georgia’s DTH TV platform. This orbital position offers opportunities for Central Europe’s broadcasters and also accommodates the rising increase of SD and HD demand across the region.

General Director of MagtiCom, David Lee (News - Alert), stated, “By launching MagtiSat, MagtiCom will accelerate Georgia’s switchover to digital TV broadcasting. Introducing a DTH platform is a unique opportunity for us to provide Georgian customers with high-standard digital TV broadcasting across the country. This launch is also important for the entire region, as it allows the population of the South Caucasus to enjoy a large and very attractive satellite TV offer.”

SES and MagtiCom have announced that the pay-TV MagtiSat will be available to all regions of Georgia from January 23, 2012 and will be broadcasted in DVB-S2 standard and MPEG-4 encoding.

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