Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) has announced the full entry into commercial service of the Ku-band and C-band missions of the W2A satellite which was launched on April 3rd.

The high-capacity W2A satellite almost triples resources at Eutelsat’s 10 degrees East position, which is one of the most longstanding locations in Europe and Africa for professional video, data and Internet services. The transfer of services at 10 degrees East to W2A from Eutelsat’s W1 satellite was carried out successfully in the night of May 18th to 19th. These operations were coordinated by Eutelsat’s satellite control centre at its Rambouillet teleport facilities, working in close collaboration with clients to ensure a seamless transfer. The capacity that entered into commercial service enables Eutelsat to provide full continuity of service for clients already operating in Ku-band in extended Europe from 10 degrees East. It also brings Eutelsat significant headroom for expansion for new customers and extends coverage into new regions with high growth potential at a key orbital location. With W2A’s entry into service, Eutelsat has also introduced a new mission comprising 10 C-band transponders. Centred over the African continent, the C-band footprint takes in large parts of the Middle East and central Asia to the East and stretches across to Latin America in the West. This capacity has enabled Eutelsat to immediately initiate new multi-year contracts with clients that notably include France Telecom for long-distance services between Europe and Africa, and with LR Group, which has contracted for three 72 MHz transponders for enterprise communications and for connecting fixed and mobile telephony networks in Angola. Following this redeployment, Eutelsat’s W1 satellite will be repositioned to 4 degrees East in early June where it will operate under the name EUROBIRD™ 4A.