General Satellite Corporation Innovations Serve up to 5 Million Viewers

On July 7, 2009 a partner of General Satellite Corporation – the digital TV operator “Tricolor TV” recorded a significant event in Russian communications – the connection of the 5 millionth subscriber. And such an accomplishment was achieved within only three and a half years, regular broadcast having started in November 2005. As of now Tricolor TV enjoys an approximately 80% share of Russian digital TV customers. At the present rate of development Tricolor TV is set to achieve 13.5% coverage of the RF population to the end of 2009.

The General Satellite Corporation has been working together with the «National Satellite Company» which falls under the brand «Tricolor TV» since 2005 – the year of its foundation, a fact which is closely related to the rapid growth of Tricolor TV’s subscriber base. The General Satellite Corporation is the developer of Operator Function Control System Middleware (CSMW), through which subscribers are connected and serviced by Russia’s largest satellite TV operator.

CSMW is an interactive service which allows subscribers to communicate with the operator without moving away from their TV set. In addition, the system permits the operator to interact with the subscriber and to respond urgently as his needs change. CSMW, used in the package Tricolor TV CSMW, is an up-to-date, effective and comprehensive tool for the control of both traditional TV and radio channel broadcasting and additional services as well. It provides partial access to the Internet, with the range of functions provided constantly widening.

CSMW by the General Satellite Corporation, as provided in the package “Tricolor TV” is the best innovation of its kind in Russia. The application of analogues of this system has become the standard practice of digital broadcasters around the world. CSMW simplifies the operator’s overall management of the subscriber base, at the same time expanding opportunities of the individual approach to each subscriber. CSMW allows one to go beyond simple access to broadcasting, turning STB into an information portal, thus making digital TV even more attractive for subscribers.

In the year 2008 alone CSMW provided 2.8 million new subscribers with the service of digital satellite TV broadcast “Tricolor TV” with no delays or other problems. Due to the rapid increase of its subscriber base “Tricolor TV” has become the most rapidly growing satellite TV operator in the world. The General Satellite Corporation, which is the STBs' supplier at the project, succeeded in increasing production volumes of TV receivers and to transfer all the production from Southeast Asia to Russia − Gousev town in the Kaliningrad region.