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PARIS, December 22, 2006/Satnews Daily/ ― Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) has contracted Alcatel Alenia Space to manufacture and deliver Eutelsat's W7 communications satellite.
To be launched in second quarter 2009 to 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.
Eutelsat said 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 copositioned 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.
W7 satellite 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 also to central Asia through a spotbeam that can be oriented in orbit. Following W7's deployment at 36 degrees East, SESAT 1 will continue in commercial service at an alternative location.
Weighing 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 that since 2000, the company has proactively built its video neighborhood at 36 degrees East into a prime location for digital markets in eastern Europe and Africa. He said 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 neighborhood.
He explained that Eutelsat looked closely at how it 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,” he added.
Pascale Sourisse, CEO of Alcatel Alenia saidW7 is the second satellite after W2A to be awarded by Eutelsat in 2006.
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