Sydney– FOXTEL has acquired six transponders on Optus' just-announced D3 satellite to deliver HD services, new channels and enhanced picture and sound quality. The pay TV platform will also migrate some of its digital services from the Optus C1 satellite to the D3 bird, which is due to launch in 2009, as well as taking options for a further two transponders for future service expansion.

The new satellite will increase Optus' fleet capacity by more than 30%. HD services will be rolled out in 2008.  The increased capacity will benefit third party channel providers who want to access FOXTEL subscribers via the FOXTEL platform. FOXTEL is moving to MPEG4 compression technology in its new Hybrid High Definition set top unit, which will mean more channels from the same amount of bandwidth.