COMPANY REPORT

Antenna Wholesaler and Retailer EICO, Iceland

EICO on Top
of the World

specialist for TV signal distribution

uses the GlobalInvacom fibre-optic system
with great success
promising future of satellite reception in
Iceland
delivers products all over the country

See all the satellite dishes up on the

roof? They tell us right away that a

satellite dealer must be doing business
here. Wholesaler and retailer EICO in
Reykjavik even has a 1.2 m motorised
antenna on the roof, capable of catching
all satellite signals between 1W and 28E.

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COMPANY REPORT

Antenna Wholesaler and Retailer EICO, Iceland

Antennas
for Iceland

Reykjavik

Arnor Sigurthorsson
is one of the three
EICO co-owners.

EICO has been doing business since

1979, and if you wonder what the company name stands for, we have a very
simple answer for you: The first two
letters are taken from the first name
of company founder Erikur Gislason,
and the second two letters are short
for company.
EICOs extensive sales and storage premises are located in Reykjaviks commercial area, not far from
the citys port. This is where we meet
up with two of the three current owners of the business, since the founder
himself passed away in 1994.
Arnor Sigurthorsson is one of them,
and he walks down memory lane with
us. Initially, EICO mainly dealt with
installing radio antennas in cars, as
well as TV antennas in houses and

apartments. In 2009 the three current owners took over the business
from the deceased founders brother,
and today EICO is well renowned all
over the place as a wholesaler and
retailer for antennas and all related
installation material. EICO serves customers from the whole of Iceland with
everything from satellite dishes and
TV antennas to complex distribution
components.
In 2012 weve begun to use GlobalInvacoms fibre-optic system, Arnor Sigurthorsson explains and leaves
no doubt that he is absolutely thrilled
by this technology. Were currently
supplying fibre-optic cables to more
than 100 apartments of a large residential complex. Some of the buildings are between 200 and 300 me-

ters apart, and the GlobalInvacom

system is just about perfect for such
a scenario. Satellite signals arrive at
each node absolutely loss-free. A
multi-switch outside the apartments
converts the distributed signal back
into a coax signal so that an available
standard coax cable can be plugged
into each receiver. This makes sure
all existing cabling inside the apartments can be used even with the upgraded distribution technology.
Sigthor Sigthorsson is another coowner of EICO, and he puts us in the
picture as far as satellite components
are concerned. We sell some 400 to
500 satellite dishes each year. The
most popular diameter is 85 cm, which
is the ideal size for reception of ASTRA
28.2E.

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Every once in a while, however, a

customer walks in and asks for a 100
cm antenna too. Those are mainly
people who are originally from Poland,
and who want to stay in touch with
their home country through all the
Polish channels on HOTBIRD 13E,
Sigthor Sigthorsson explains. But to
put things into perspective, this is only
about five percent of our customers.
In general, he believes in a bright future of satellite reception Iceland: After all, its still the least expensive way
of watching a wide range of attractive

TV channels.
At the same time, EICO has been
a major player in the field of MMDS
installations, but the future of this
technology in Iceland is very uncertain. We expect the MMDS system
to be discontinued. The local MMDS
provider currently offers almost 100
TV channels over the S band, which
can be received with small parabolic
antennas. The MMDS system was
launched in 1993 and we experienced
an absolute peak in 1996. Since then,
however, MMDS customers have

switched to cable in increasing numbers.

As they say, you win some and you
lose some. The important thing is that
the three EICO owners wont stand still
but will gladly take any new chances
they come across along their way.
And in the end signals need to be
distributed, no matter where they
originally come from.
EICO is certain to stay on top. On
top in terms of geography, and more
importantly on top in terms of technology.

View of the extensive sales room, where

Sigthor Sigthorsson

EICO showcases satellite antennas and

other reception equipment.

is another EICO
co-owner.

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 Lucrative secondary business in a country

that is not exactly known for its stable
weather: automatic weather stations for use
at home.

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1. EICO uses this collection of

terrestrial antennas on a pole in
the warehouse to highlight the
differences between the available
models.
2. Minor repairs can be carried out
on-site in the EICO workshop.

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