Telesat's ANIK F2 Satellite in Rapid Operational Decline
Telesat's Anik F2 satellite has been experiencing technical anomalies threatening the satellite's serviceable life. Shaw Broadcast Services (SBS) uses Telesat's Anik F2 satellite to serve our customers. SBS also uses Anik G1, which is not experiencing any technical issues. To increase the period of survivability of satellite receive equipment, the modulation scheme on Anik F2 was changed to DVB-S QPSK 2/3 FEC in November 2022.
BDUs utilizing larger antennas may encounter service outages as early as June, 2023. If you are using a large antenna at your head end, we recommend replacing it with a 75cm antenna to extend the time before service interruptions begin (with the exception of those located in Eastern Arctic and Northern Quebec, a 75cm antenna will not provide reception in most areas). If you are using commercial receivers in your head end and you install a 75cm antenna, you will also require the installation of:
- Polarity lockers required to lock the consumer grade LNBs to the specific satellite and polarity desired at the headend
- L-band amplification required to support lower signal levels coming from the 75 cm antenna.
The February 2023 Bulletin outlines the impact to various regions in Canada based on the latest Anik F2 inclination prediction from Telesat. Predicted outages may begin earlier if Anik F2 worsens. Updates will be provided through our bulletins and available on our website.
In order to accommodate the hundreds of video and audio signals offered on Shaw Direct and to Shaw Broadcast customers on one satellite, we must transition all services to HEVC, a more efficient compression technology. In addition to the transition to HEVC, all audio, whether dedicated audio stations or audio for video channels, will convert from AC3 to AAC audio. Details about the transition to HEVC is available on the HEVC page of this website and through our bulletins.