ABN to keep broadcasts unscrambled

ABN to keep broadcasts unscrambled

JAKARTA (JP): The Asian Business News (ABN), a Singapore-based regional business news television service, will not scramble its broadcasts to Indonesia in the near future, says the company's executive.

"Indonesian viewers will still be able to watch for free through their satellite dishes," Paul France, ABN's chief executive officer, told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

France said, however, this policy is not infinite. "It depends on future developments," he said.

France said that ABN has secured a contract with PT Satelindo of Indonesia to use the latter's Palapa C-1 satellite which is scheduled to be launched next October.

"This contract will allow us to continue serving about 13 million homes and 120,000 hotel rooms across the region," he said.

ABN has to date used Indonesia's B2P satellite which reaches as far as northern China and southern Australia.

France also said that ABN has not encountered any problems with Asian governments which have strict regulations over the flow and contents of information.

"No such cases so far," he stressed.

ABN is backed by several parties, including Dow Jones & Co. Inc., the owner of the Wall Street Journal and Far Eastern Economic Review, which controls a stake of 29.5 percent, Tele- Communications Inc. with 29.5 percent, Television New Zealand Ltd with 29.5 percent, SIM Ventures Pte Ltd. of Singapore with 10 percent and Hong Kong's Business News Network with 1.5 percent. (hdj)