MUMBAI: Satellite operator Eutelsat has announced a contract with France Telecom for the acquisition of its teleport in Rambouillet (France).

The teleport accommodates one of Europes ground stations for satellite communications. There, Eutelsat has developed infrastructure and facilities for satellite control, tests and monitoring, as well as for turnkey broadband and mobile services.

The Rambouillet teleport constitutes an integral part of the telemetry, command and ranging (TCR) network for Eutelsats satellite system. It also hosts the companys payload test facilities. These have been used to commission 20 Eutelsat satellites since the first Eutelsat II launch in 1990, and payload and communications monitoring facilities which ensure quality of service to customers.

The facilities for the post-launch phase of Eutelsats satellites are also located at Rambouillet and were inaugurated in March this year with the launch of W3A. This has enabled Eutelsat to internalise the post-launch phase, thereby integrating the complete chain of satellite operations. It also equips the company to offer post-launch services to other satellite operators.

Eutelsat has selected Rambouillet for locating infrastructure, including hub stations for value-added broadband and mobile services. It also provides uplink and equipment housing services for third-party broadband service providers offering broadband access and content distribution services. The site is equipped with a redundant STM-4 link (622 Mbps) to Telehouse 2, one of the leading operator exchange points in Paris, which virtually places the teleport in the heart of Paris.

With capacity commercialised on 24 satellites that provide coverage from North and South America to Far East Asia, Eutelsat claims to be one of the world's three leading satellite operators. Its satellites are used for broadcasting more than 1,450 television and 700 radio stations to 110 million cable and satellite homes.