AlphaStar Television Network Inc. on Monday said it plans to begin offering direct-broadcast digital television - via satellite - to Hawaii households next month.
The Connecticut company will be the first digital-to-home satellite TV provider in the state, taking aim at a market heavily penetrated by cable TV companies.
But AlphaStar won't be able to offer its service to the entire state. Because its signal will be beamed from an AT&T satellite only about 15 degrees off the Hawaii horizon, many homes won't be in the line of sight needed to receive the signal.
AlphaStar estimates about 60 percent of the state's households - mostly those on the eastern side of each island - will be in the satellite's coverage area.
Consumers will have to buy the satellite dish - 30 or 36 inches in diameter - plus a converter box to get service. Cost: $600 to $700.
Monthly cost for the basic 46 channels (plus 30 channels of digital music) will be about $25. A 100-
channel premium package will run $50.
Murray Klippenstein, AlphaStar's chief executive, said his company will be touting the picture quality received by a digital system. The quality of traditional analog TV - what most consumers get - is far inferior, he said.
"It's like going back to a plastic record (instead of compact disc) to get your sound," he said. "Once people see (digital), they'll want it."
On Oahu, AlphaStar will be going head-to-head primarily with Oceanic Cable, the island's main cable TV company. Oceanic is developing its own digital system, which is scheduled to be available throughout the island late this year. Oahu Wireless Cable offers an analog service via satellite.
One potential drawback with digital satellite broadcasts is that the signals can be affected by heavy rainfall. For that reason, AlphaStar will recommend 36-inch dishes instead of its 30-inch ones for areas, mostly on Kauai, that frequently get downpours.
Other direct-TV companies have expressed an interest in the Hawaii market but currently don't have the satellites in orbit to beam signals here.
AlphaStar, which has not yet launched service on the mainland, is leasing capacity on the AT&T satellite.