Eutelsat Buys Rambouillet (France) Teleport

Paris, Sept. 3/Satnews Daily/ — Eutelsat has acquired Rambouillet (France) teleport, one of Europe's most established ground stations for satellite communications, from France Telecom.

Located less than 70km from Paris, the Rambouillet teleport constitutes an integral part of the telemetry, command and ranging (TCR) network for Eutelsat's satellite system. It also hosts the company's payload test facilities, which 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.

Facilities for the post-launch phase (LEOP) of Eutelsat's satellites are also located at Rambouillet and were inaugurated in March this year with the launch of W3A. This has enabled Eutelsat to internalize the post-launch phase, thereby integrating the complete chain of satellite operations, and equips the company to offer post-launch services to other satellite operators.

Eutelsat’s hub stations for value-added broadband and mobile services are also found at Rambouillet. The site provides uplink and equipment housing services for third-party broadband service providers offering broadband access and content distribution services.

According to Eutelsat, the site is equipped with a redundant STM-4 link (622 Mbps) to Telehouse 2, making it one of the leading operator exchange points in Paris and virtually places the teleport in the heart of the French capital.

Giuliano Berretta, Eutelsat CEO said the purchase meets the company’s strategic objective of substantially increasing control of its satellite operations and equipping it with a uniquely-located site for expanding value-added services.

“Our objective is to build Rambouillet into a major European hub for satellite services in complement to the hub operated in Turin by our broadband affiliate Skylogic Italia. The configuration of two hubs affords mutual sparing and is a guarantee for continuity and quality of service," he said.

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