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MUMBAI: European satellite comunications firm Eutelsat and
Alcatel Alenia Space have signed a contract under which Alcatel
Alenia Space will manufacture and deliver Eutelsat’s
W7 communications satellite.
To be launched in second quarter of 2009 at Eutelsat’s
36 degrees East location, W7 will double the capacity currently
available at a key neighborhood in the group’s fleet
of geostationary satellites. Through a configuration of high-performance
fixed and steerable beams, W7 will also boost coverage and
flexibility for addressing growing markets, notably in central
Asia and Africa.
W7’s mission comprises up to 70 Ku-band transponders
that can be connected to six beams serving Europe, Russia,
Africa, the Middle East and central Asia. To be co-located
with Eutelsat’s W4 satellite, which already serves anchor
pay-TV operators in Russia, the Ukraine and sub-Saharan Africa,
W7 will enable Eutelsat to almost double bandwidth for digital
video services in these regions.
It will also replace all capacity on Eutelsat’s Sesat
1 satellite which serves Europe, North Africa, the Middle
East and central Asia, and bring fresh capacity to South Africa
through a high-power fixed beam and to central Asia through
a spot beam which can be reoriented in orbit. Following W7’s
deployment at 36 degrees East, SESAT 1 will continue in commercial
service at an alternative location.
Weighing in at 5.6 tons and with 12 kW of payload power,
W7 is based on the Alcatel Alenia Space Spacebus 4000 platform
and will be boosted into orbit by Sea Launch.
Eutelsat CEO Giuliano Berretta said, “Since 2000, we
have proactively built our video neighbourhood at 36 degrees
East into a prime location for digital markets in eastern
Europe and Africa. This commitment has won the confidence
of pay-TV operators who are pioneers in their markets, notably
NTV Plus from Russia, Poverkhnost from the Ukraine and MultiChoice
Africa which reaches large parts of sub-Saharan Africa through
this neighbourhood.
In order to support growth for broadcast and telecommunications
services in these regions and to boost capacity for other
markets, we looked closely at how we could even more efficiently
exploit the resource at 36 degrees East.
"With W7, this key position in our fleet will benefit
from capacity enabling us to use the full spectrum of Ku-band
frequencies, and to respond to market demands in multiple
regions through a high degree of operational flexibility.”
Alcatel Alenia Space CEO Pascale Sourisse says, “We
are very pleased and fully committed to supporting Eutelsat
sustainable growth. We are also very proud of working alongside
Eutelsat to meet the increasing market demand and emerging
new applications by delivering technologies with outstanding
performance.
W7 is the second satellite after W2A to be awarded by Eutelsat
to our company in 2006. This contract further consolidates
an historical year for our company: we have been chosen by
a large number of operators, making us the world leader in
the communications satellite market.”
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