Now before the UBI fan club gets wound up. This is what I would expect to happen..<br /><br />B3 to go from 152E to 160E, service transfer to take place all ex B1 to shift to B3(160e). Test for a day or 2 then B1 move to 152E (old b3 slot)this would mean all services on B3 would be out for at a minimum 2 weeks.<br /><br />There is mention of another sat unnamed being a possible backup but I totally doubt that happening.<br /><br />INTERVIEW: NZ Sky TV Hunting For Back-Up Satellite<br /><br /><br />From http://sg.biz.yahoo.com/050531/15/3srpm.html<br /><br />WELLINGTON (Dow Jones)--Sky Network Television Ltd. (SKY.NZ) hopes to this week announce a deal which will ensure that its service faces minimal disruption if its current satellite, which is now running on a back-up processor, fully fails. <br /><br />The New Zealand-based pay television operator has been reviewing its options since its service was twice interrupted last week due to the failure of part of a satellite operated by Optus Networks Pty Ltd., a subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (T48.SG). <br /><br />The satellite problem comes just before the British and Irish Lions rugby team is scheduled to play Saturday the first match of its six-week long tour of New Zealand. <br /><br />The high-profile tour is expected to boost Sky TV's advertising revenue and subscriber numbers because it has the rights to screen the matches live. <br /><br />The satellite, which provides Sky TV's service to the bulk of its subscribers, is now reliant on a back-up control processor which kicked into action when the primary one failed. If the back-up processor fails, most of Sky TV's subscribers would be cut off. <br /><br />Jason Hollingworth, chief financial officer at Sky TV, said the company is looking at various options to cover itself in the event that the back-up satellite processor fails. <br /><br />"We're concerned, but we've got plans to recover," Hollingworth told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview Tuesday. <br /><br />"We're hoping by the end of this week to announce something," he added. <br /><br />Sky TV's options include moving another satellite into the orbit of the existing one, which would likely take a week, meaning that the company's service could potentially be interrupted for that length of time. <br /><br />Or Sky TV could take its service from a satellite in a different location. <br /><br />The company favors moving a satellite, as the other option would likely require it to realign the dishes that its subscribers use to receive the service, a process which could be time-consuming and costly. <br /><br />Hollingworth said if a worst-case scenario eventuated and the satellite failed with no immediate back-up, the Lions matches would likely screen live on free-to-air television in New Zealand through CanWest MediaWorks (NZ) Ltd. (MWL.NZ). <br /><br />Sky TV Confident Of Retaining Signal Strength, Capacity <br /><br />But Hollingworth noted that history suggests back-up processors on satellites can last for years. <br /><br />He said that Sky TV's research shows that about 36 satellites like the one now providing its service exist, and of them about seven have moved to back-up computers in the past. The shortest time a back-up facility lasted was "I think 16 months," while four are still operating on back-up, Hollingworth said. <br /><br />"That made us feel quite good, although I guess you don't know with these things," he added. <br /><br />Sky TV is currently talking to Optus about how to get access to another one its satellites. <br /><br />Optus already has customers using the other satellites, and must reach agreement with them before a final deal with Sky TV can be announced, he added. <br /><br />Sky TV has also been approached by other satellite operators who have offered to move one of their satellites into position for the company. <br /><br />"We're trying to work out the best satellite to fit our requirements that will get there the quickest, that will cost us the least," Hollingworth said. <br /><br />Goldman Sachs JBWere said in a research note late last week that Sky TV could suffer a "degradation of signal strength and reduced capacity" if it moves another satellite into the existing one's orbit. <br /><br />But Hollingworth said "that depends on what satellite we move", and added "if it's the one that we're hoping to be able to move with Optus then the signal strength would be exactly the same." <br /><br />Goldman Sachs JBWere also noted that costs associated with moving a satellite could "arguably" reach NZ$10 million or more, however it added that Optus may meet part of the cost. <br /><br />Hollingworth said he doesn't expect "huge costs" to be incurred by Sky TV. <br /><br />Sky TV's satellite uncertainty won't last far into 2006 because of an earlier agreement it signed to purchase additional capacity on two new satellites from Optus. The first is scheduled to be completed in early 2006 and the second satellite 18 months later.