...satellites based upon a high performance, open architecture design. Intelsat EpicNG will be deployed for wireless and fixed telecommunications, enterprise, mobility, video and government applications requiring broadband infrastructure across the major continents. The Intelsat EpicNG platform is an innovative approach to satellite and network architecture using multiple frequency bands, wide beams, spot beams and frequency reuse technology. A complementary overlay, Intelsat EpicNG will be fully integrated with Intelsat's existing satellite fleet and global IntelsatONE(SM) terrestrial network.

Combining Intelsat's spectral rights in the C-, Ku- and Ka-bands with the technical advantages of high throughput technology, the Intelsat EpicNG platform will be fully open architecture. Intelsat's customers will be able to use existing hardware and network topologies, and in many cases, define their own service characteristics, enabling them to offer customized solutions to their end users and build upon their current business success. Intelsat EpicNG leverages the high throughput characteristics of spot beams and frequency reuse without sacrificing performance and flexibility, enabling new service offerings not currently available from other systems.

"With Intelsat EpicNG, we will deliver innovation that creates immediate value for our customers," said Intelsat SVP and Chief Technical Officer Thierry Guillemin. "As bandwidth demand grows, speed and throughput is critical. However, equally important is the operating environment. Our customers operate vast infrastructures, with millions of dollars invested in capital equipment and operational teams that must be managed efficiently. Intelsat EpicNG caters to this environment, with an architecture open to a wide array of network topologies and terminal technologies. Combined with multi-band frequency reuse, this is high throughput with the benefits of backward and forward compatibility. Operational excellence is core to our approach, and Intelsat EpicNG is designed to support the same in our customers' businesses."

Initially, the Intelsat EpicNG platform will feature two next generation satellites, and Intelsat is currently evaluating proposals by several manufacturers. These first two satellites, Intelsat 29e and Intelsat 33e, have projected in-services dates in 2015 and 2016, and feature wide coverage and high throughput capacity; combined they will serve every populated region in the world.