Digital group plans joint Web/TV package

It'sTV, the only bidder to operate a national digital TV service, is in talks with a US venture capital fund seeking finance to support its bid, writes Jamie Smyth

IT'STV, the sole bidder for a licence to operate a national digital television service here, plans to offer consumers 40 TV channels and a high-speed internet service for €33 (£26) a month.

The company also plans to introduce technology that would enable consumers to receive a digital signal without a cable, rooftop aerial or a satellite dish, its founder has told The Irish Times. But the group will first have to secure a principal financial backer to support its licence bid. The company is in talks with a US venture capital fund but there is no guarantee these talks will succeed.

Mr Peter Brannigan, a former RTÉ executive and chief architect of It'sTV's bid for a licence, would not comment on the financial negotiations but he outlined the technology basis for the bid.

The proposed digital service would operate via a signal 10 times as powerful as that used in an equivalent digital television network in Britain, ITV Digital. This British channel has encountered serious financial problems competing with cable operators and the Sky satellite platform.

"The standards we are using would cut down the cost of receiving equipment and installation," said Mr Brannigan.

He said the Government had negotiated the right with the British Government to use a much more powerful digital terrestrial signal than was used in Britain.

"The ITV Digital service requires consumers to use a rooftop antenna and the service provider must send someone out to connect consumers," he said. "People who want to go with us just have to go to Dixons and buy a set-top box with a node attached to it to receive the digital signal."

The nodes would receive a powerful digital signal beamed from RTÉ's existing network to provide the consumer with "portable grade reception".

This could eventually enable the digital service provider to offer television service to personal digital assistants or mobile phones, said Mr Brannigan.

It'sTV also plans to provide a high-speed internet service for consumers on their televisions. This wireless service would use a return path in the digital signal to send and receive information.

The company plans to offer three internet services to consumers, which would run at speeds of 256, 128 and 56 kilobytes per second, said Mr Brannigan. It's- TV plans to establish a network of 50 to 100 cells to provide national internet coverage, he added.

He said this would be a much more economical method of rolling out broadband services throughout the State than either cable or digital subscriber line (DSL) technology.

"It costs between €1,600 to €2,000 per house passed to upgrade cable networks. This is just huge," he said. "DSL doesn't cover rural areas economically, either."

At present the telecoms regulator expects a digital terrestrial licensee to offer more than 90 per cent national coverage. This is not attractive to venture capitalists due to extra costs to provide a service in rural areas.

But with only one bidder in the race for the digital licence, and its difficulty in attracting a financial backer well known, this high coverage level may have to be reduced to make the proposed service attractive to financiers.

Mr Brannigan said It'sTV would need to raise between €15 million and €85 million to operate its service depending on the type and coverage required. The company has already received seed funding from Delta Partners.