HOT BIRD 10, to be renamed ATLANTIC BIRD 4A (Image courtesy EADS Astrium) Nilesat, the Egyptian satellite company, and Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) have announced the signing of a new strategic agreement that will find both Companies pursuing the development of the 7 degrees West orbital position, which is used by both companies for satellite broadcasting across the Middle East, the Gulf countries, and North Africa.

This new phase of collaboration between Nilesat and Eutelsat follows the recent successful launch of Eutelsat's HOT BIRD 10 satellite that will first be commercialized at 7 degrees West under the name ATLANTIC BIRD 4A. Eutelsat has been partnering with Nilesat at 7 degrees West since July 2006 when its ATLANTIC BIRD 4 satellite was copositioned with the Nilesat 101 and Nilesat 102 satellites. This constellation of three satellites at a single neighbourhood currently comprises 39 transponders, which transmit more than 450 television channels to an audience of more than 38 million homes. The development of the shared neighbourhood will move into a new phase with the commercial entry into service later this month of ATLANTIC BIRD 4A at 7 degrees West, enabling Nilesat to boost through to 2019 the number of transponders it leases from Eutelsat. The collaboration between both operators will move into a third phase with the deployment in mid-2010 of the Nilesat 201 satellite procured by Nilesat. This will be followed in 2011 by the arrival of ATLANTIC BIRD 4R which Eutelsat recently confirmed it will soon procure.