|
PureBytes Links
Trading Reference Links
|
Filed at 10:48 p.m. EDT
By The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A communications satellite spun out of control Tuesday
afternoon, interrupting service to millions of pager users and disrupting
behind-the-scenes television transmissions across the country.
Galaxy 4, which is operated by PanAmSat, started having problems about 6:30
p.m. EDT, said a company technician who asked not to be named. The company
was still able to communicate with the satellite, and technicians hoped to
restore its correct orbit.
Scott Baradell, a spokesman for PageNet, one of several paging companies
whose services were interrupted, estimated that 80 to 90 percent of the 40
million to 45 million U.S. pager users lost service.
The only customers not affected were those whose connections are through
ground-based radio transmitters, he said.
Baradell said it would take about a day for his company to switch service
to another satellite. ``You have to make adjustments to your system,'' he
said. ``If it's at all possible to get Galaxy 4 back in service, that's
much preferred.''
A woman who answered the phone at Greenwich, Conn.-based PanAmSat refused
to comment.
If Galaxy 4 can't be fixed, traffic would have to be redirected to other
satellites, said Russ Colby, a vice president at Digicom Services, a Los
Angeles-based pager company that has 40,000 subscribers. He estimated up to
20,000 of its customers were out of service.
``It's important that word gets out. People don't know it's not working,''
Colby said.
The pager problem was of particular concern to doctors. Dr. Steve Dickens,
a cardiologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said he was
spending the night at the hospital because of the problem.
``I have to tell (the hospital) what to do and how to respond,'' he said.
``Protocol says they can't make a decision without first calling the
doctor.''
Television stations use Galaxy 4 to transmit feeds of advance shows, said
Marguerite Sullivan, satellite coordinator for KCAL-TV in Los Angeles.
It was not clear what television programming might be affected.
``Hopefully, TV stations will be able to work around it,'' she said. ``It's
just satellite space is going to be very tight. It's going to be a problem
for syndication. ... Thank God most stuff is done two days in advance.
We're not too bad off.''
In addition to the syndicated programs, CBS radio and television, the
Chinese Television Network and the CNN Airport Network send feeds through
Galaxy 4.
CBS relied most heavily on Galaxy 4 but had a backup plan and has not been
affected by the outage, said spokeswoman Amy Malone. ABC and NBC also said
their operations have not been affected.
Galaxy 4 was launched in June 1993 aboard an Ariane rocket. Its coverage
area is primarily the United States and Caribbean, according to PanAmSat's
World Wide Web sites.
PanAmSat is 81 percent owned by Los Angeles-based Hughes Communications
Inc.
|