(39.)
SMATV used a satellite dish on top of an apartment building or hotel to deliver roughly the same package of satellite-delivered programming services as a cable operator.
That is more than enough bandwidth to deliver DESS, traditional cable television (CATV), Internet access, local off-air UHF/VHF television (Satellite Master Antenna Television or
SMATV) and security services.
Multi-channel multipoint distribution services (MMDS), also known as "wireless cable" systems, use microwave frequencies to distribute programming to rooftop antennas of subscribers.(35) By July 1997, approximately 252 wireless cable systems were in operation, serving about 1.1 million subscribers.(36) Satellite Master Antenna Television (
SMATV) systems essentially function as private cable systems, transmitting programming from a single "headend" through the airwaves to rooftop antennas on commonly owned buildings.(37) Programming is then relayed throughout each building using traditional cable wiring.(38)
These services include DBS, local off-air TV, Cable or
SMATV, Security, Data, and high-bandwidth Internet services.
In addition, CATV is stimulating the development of satellite master antenna systems (
SMATV), which use microwave carriers.
Moreover, DTH requires an unobstructed view between the customer dish and the satellite - something not always possible in high-rise areas, although it may sometimes be achieved via single-mast antenna vehicle (
SMATV) arrangements.
In combination, alternative providers, such as private cable (Satellite Master Antenna Television or
SMATV), wireless cable (Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service or MMDS), cellular television (Local Multichannel Distribution Service or LMDS), home satellite dishes (Television Receive Only Units or TVRO), direct broadcast satellite (DBS), and common carrier telephone distribution (Video Dial Tone or VDT) now have about four million subscribers.(2)
Preempt all state laws that forbid or cripple deployment of Satellite Master Antenna Television services (
SMATV, or private cable) or Shared Tenant Services (private telephone exchanges).
Even unauthorized reception by individual viewers (such as by backyard earth stations for non-commercial purposes) is prohibited if the signal is scrambled or if the provider of the service "makes available an agent or other marketing mechanism to authorize such reception.' Unauthorized reception by any other person (such as
SMATV operators, landlords and hotels) of any satellite-delivered cable programming, whether scrambled or unscrambled, is prohibited.
MTV IndiaisavailablefromAugust 2012, across the region on Pehla branded packs or
SMATV, with the aim to launch on other platforms in the near future.
Consider the experience of Telesat Cablevision, Inc., then the nation's most aggressive cable competitor with about 50,000 subscribers in thirteen franchise areas and 100
SMATV systems(62) throughout Florida.(63) It estimated that in 1989 its "defensive legal costs" consumed over $1 million of its $10.24 million in operating revenues.