Beyond cable: sat-TV is beaming.

If one lives in a major city, you might question the satellite boom. But anyone who has driven the backroads of America, or wandered the far reaches of third world countries can attest to its presence. The ubiquitous satellite dish - often called a country's national flower - has dotted the landscape for years in places where TV reception was sketchy and cable had not yet penetrated. That picture is changing, though. The new dish from Digital Satellite System is 18 inches (43 cm) in diameter and its picture quality has improved to a level formerly attainable only on laser disks. What is the real key ingredient to its newfound success, though? The latest dishes are now priced at under $700.

Furthermore, satellite programmers are benefitting from the advent of digital compression. Multivision, Mexico's largest wireless operator, has three transponders beaming all over Mexico, and parts of Central and South America with a six to one ratio. "We are the largest in Mexico in MMDS," reported Fernando Villasenor, technical director for Multivision. "One great advantage is that we can track exactly what our subscribers are watching, as opposed to cable systems where you don't necessarily know what the subscriber has on. What we beam out is what they get and it is easy for us to monitor that," he said. Multivision is planning to continue its expansion in the major population areas of Central and South America, said Villasenor.

One down-side of satellite TV in the U.S. is that traditional broadcast networks are not participating in the programming services to protect their affiliates' interests. However, satellite dish owners will soon be offered a full slate of entertainment programming that is intended to compete with the network fare.

Digital Satellite System, with backing by RCA and General Motors, will offer expanded program capacity including the much touted "Video Store of the Sky," which will use digital compression technology and serve up hundreds of movies with starting times every 15 minutes. Initially, there will be 75 video channels to choose from. In addition to movies, Digital is planning multiple pay-perview sports and concert events.

Competition to Digital Satellite System will come from U.S. Satellite Broadcasting, a Hubbard subisdiary, with major backing from financier George Soros. U.S. Satellite will also roll out an 18-inch (43 cm) dish and an affordable digital home receiver. The company plans to offer various entertainment channels, pay-per-view features, and subscription services ranging in price from $7.95 to $34.95 per month.

Satellites Abroad

Canada is also covering its rural bases as well as protecting itself from the invasion of U.S. satellite broadcasters by establishing a DTH satellite service backed by five majors: Shaw Communications Inc., Astral Broadcasting Group, Rogers Cablesystems, JLL Broadcast Group, and CFCF Inc. The consortium will broadcast using a highpowered satellite to Canadian regions not serviced by the cable companies. The new DTH is expected to be in service by mid-1995, receivable on a relatively small 24-inch dish. Pricing is expected to be competitive with Canadian cable rates and U.S. satellite service rates, and will offer up to 80 pay-per-view channels in the future.

And in the Far East, Rupert Murdoch continues to stretch his reach with his 64 per cent-owned Star-TV satellite network. By splitting its signal for sports transmissions to program to suit local tastes, Star can deliver more cricket to India and a wider array of gymnastics and track to the Chinese. As digital compression technology opens the satellite band for more channels, operations like Star will be able to customize programming to the most local degree, potentially turning niche markets into new areas of profitablity.

Cellular Satellite

What is considered to be the most ambitious global satellite communications system ever envisioned is planned by McCaw Cellular Communications, one of the largest cellular telephone companies, and Microsoft. It's to be called Teledesic and it will be headed by Russell Daggatt as president.

The two men behind the project, which would involve the launching of 840 small satellites - at a cost of some $9 billion - are Craig McCaw and William H. Gates. The new network would carry anything from phone calls to highresolution computerized medical images and two-way video conferences, and it would reach just about every spot on the planet.

Teledesic would be of particular application in rural and remote areas, away from urban centers, locations that are normally cut off from advanced communications.

McCaw is chairman of McCaw Cellular, which American Telephone and Telegraph bought for $12.6 million. Gates is chairman and CEO of Microsoft, which racks up $4 billion in annual sales. McCaw is chairman of Teledesic.

The Teledesic communications system would enable a computer user to function without the sender or the receiver being any where near a telephone system.

To get Teledesic going, approval from a number of national and international communications agencies will be required. That includes the FCC.

There exist plans for a competing system by Motorola, which has so far raised $800 million toward Iridium, a $3.3 billion satellite telephone service, which would use 66 spacecrafts. Iridium could start functioning by the year 2001.