November 2000

Malta Update Memo

The following report outlines new developments in the past three months and the state of on-going developments.

Introduction

During the summer months there were no major changes in the area of alternative networks in the local scene. It is understood however, that the only cable TV company on the island continued to upgrade its network in anticipation of further liberalisation of the telecommunications services market.

Cable TV

In previous updates, it has been reported that the company, Melita Cable TV Limited, is progressing with upgrading its infrastructure to one that could cope with two-way data communications.

Traditionally, cable TV networks were used to distribute TV stations to their customers such that any channel could be selected by the customer using a set-top box provided as part of the service offering. A network capable of handling one-way downstream TV signal flow from head-end, could suffice for such a service. However, the bandwidth characteristic of coaxial and fibre-optic cables and the significant developments made over the past years in semiconductor technology, made it possible for cable TV companies to augment their network potential to also include interactive services.

The Chairman of the Melita Cable, had announced earlier on this year that they have completed about 75% of their network upgrade. It is understood that significant process is being achieved and most of the network will have been upgraded by the end of this year.