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Eutelsat expands to Australia
Chris Forrester
Eutelsat is ordering a brand-new satellite in order to greatly expand its existing services at 70.5 deg East. The craft, W5A, will be Astrium’s 19th satellite for Eutelsat, and it will boost the operator’s links to Australia.
Astrium gets the order for W5A, which is to build a 48-transponder Ku-band satellite that will be located at its 70.5° East location. Scheduled for launch in fourth quarter 2012, the satellite will replace the W5 craft and more than double Eutelsat’s resources at 70.5° East. “It will be used for a range of professional applications that include government services, broadband access, GSM backhauling and professional video exchanges in Europe, Africa and Central and South-East Asia,” says a statement.
The satellite looks like being a sophisticated craft. “Weighing in at five tonnes, W5A will be based on the Astrium Eurostar E3000 platform with a designed in-orbit lifetime exceeding 15 years. Each of the satellite’s four high-performance fixed beams will be focused over a distinct zone: Europe, Africa, Central Asia and South-East Asia reaching as far as Australia. Through a high degree of on-board connectivity, clients will be able to use the beams either for regional coverage or to interconnect continents. This will support high-growth services that include secure government communications in Central Asia through hubs located in the region or in Europe, business networks between South-East Asia and Africa, and direct connectivity between Europe and Australia.”
Michel de Rosen, Eutelsat CEO commented on the new satellite: “The 70.5° East position sits at the crossroads of three continents, enabling businesses and government agencies to carry out rapid, efficient and scaleable connections between Europe, Africa and large parts of Asia. We believe that the exceptionally high flexibility devised for W5A will enable us to respond to the continued strong growth of professional satellite-based services in all these markets. This contract also marks a new milestone in our relationship with Astrium, a longstanding industrial partner for Eutelsat, that will deliver a 19th satellite for our Group.”
Chris Forrester
Eutelsat is ordering a brand-new satellite in order to greatly expand its existing services at 70.5 deg East. The craft, W5A, will be Astrium’s 19th satellite for Eutelsat, and it will boost the operator’s links to Australia.
Astrium gets the order for W5A, which is to build a 48-transponder Ku-band satellite that will be located at its 70.5° East location. Scheduled for launch in fourth quarter 2012, the satellite will replace the W5 craft and more than double Eutelsat’s resources at 70.5° East. “It will be used for a range of professional applications that include government services, broadband access, GSM backhauling and professional video exchanges in Europe, Africa and Central and South-East Asia,” says a statement.
The satellite looks like being a sophisticated craft. “Weighing in at five tonnes, W5A will be based on the Astrium Eurostar E3000 platform with a designed in-orbit lifetime exceeding 15 years. Each of the satellite’s four high-performance fixed beams will be focused over a distinct zone: Europe, Africa, Central Asia and South-East Asia reaching as far as Australia. Through a high degree of on-board connectivity, clients will be able to use the beams either for regional coverage or to interconnect continents. This will support high-growth services that include secure government communications in Central Asia through hubs located in the region or in Europe, business networks between South-East Asia and Africa, and direct connectivity between Europe and Australia.”
Michel de Rosen, Eutelsat CEO commented on the new satellite: “The 70.5° East position sits at the crossroads of three continents, enabling businesses and government agencies to carry out rapid, efficient and scaleable connections between Europe, Africa and large parts of Asia. We believe that the exceptionally high flexibility devised for W5A will enable us to respond to the continued strong growth of professional satellite-based services in all these markets. This contract also marks a new milestone in our relationship with Astrium, a longstanding industrial partner for Eutelsat, that will deliver a 19th satellite for our Group.”