[Satnews] Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I) announces that Intelsat 29e, the first of the Intelsat EpicNG high throughput satellites, is scheduled to launch on January 27, 2016, aboard an Arianespace Ariane 5 ECA launch vehicle from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana.
Manufactured by Boeing, Intelsat’s EpicNG satellites operate in both C-and Ku-band, and are fully interoperable with the entire Intelsat satellite fleet. The Intelsat EpicNG satellites will operate the most advanced digital payload commercially available, providing commercial and government customers access to high throughput capabilities, which will result in a flexible broadband infrastructure that will scale to meet their needs.
Located at 310 degrees East, Intelsat 29e will replace Intelsat 1R and Intelsat 805. The payload will enable the delivery of enterprise-grade, broadband services to fixed and mobile network operators, aero and maritime mobility service providers, and to government customers operating throughout the Americas. The satellite will also provide spot beams for mobility customers serving the heavily trafficked North Atlantic region. To date, companies such as Harris CapRock, Panasonic, EMC (formerly MTN), Axesat and leading national telecom operators in Latin America will be among the first to deploy services on the platform.
Intelsat 29e marks the first of Intelsat’s next generation EpicNG satellite fleet that combines wide beams and spot beams with frequency reuse technology to meet customers’ growing demand for broadband connectivity worldwide. Intelsat29e will be the 56th Intelsat satellite orbited by Arianespace and the first dedicated launch aboard an Ariane 5 rocket for Intelsat. Intelsat expects to launch the second Intelsat EpicNG satellite, Intelsat 33e, which will serve Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, in the third quarter of 2016, also aboard an Arianespace launcher.
Executive Comment
“This is an exciting time for our company, with Intelsat leading the way with new satellite-based solutions that address the needs of our always-connected world,” said Stephen Spengler, Chief Executive Officer, Intelsat. “With broadband demands only increasing, Intelsat 29e will enable our customers to extend the reach of their networks and provide high quality, fast, reliable connectivity, whether they are serving end users in flight, at sea or increasing the amount of throughput on existing broadband infrastructure. With 2016 fast approaching, Intelsat 29e is completed and awaiting shipment to the launch site. Intelsat continues to work closely with Boeing and Arianespace to ensure that Intelsat 29e is ready for its planned January launch date and to mark the next evolution in Intelsat’s longstanding history of innovation.”