NEW BUSINESS FOR W2A

Eutelsat introduces C-band capacity at a key neighbourhood

On 3 April, Eutelsat’s W2A satellite blasted into orbit on its way to 10° East. With two
baseline missions comprising 46 Ku-band and 10 C-band transponders, the satellite
has almost tripled capacity at a market-leading neighbourhood for data and
professional video networks.

With the introduction of high-power C-band capacity at this orbital position, Eutelsat
has strengthened its capacity portfolio, particularly for Africa where demand is high
for wireless infrastructure. Centred over the African continent and providing pan-African coverage, W2A’s C-band footprint takes in large parts of the Middle East and central Asia and stretches across to Latin America.

Signing up for C-Band
A number of market-leading service providers have signed-up for capacity in the
C-band, including France Telecom, which has inked a multi-year contract to support
long-distance services between Europe and Africa.

Astrium Services have signed a five-year contract for capacity, to provide coverage
for their existing and future customers across Africa. Opposite, they explain how
they are using the capacity to complement the commercial communication services
they currently supply to Africa.

SkyVision, a leading end-to-end provider of standard or customised IP services
over satellite and terrestrial fibre systems, has selected C-band capacity on W2A to
supplement its extensive pan-African space segment and private networks inventory.
SkyVision’s VSAT Internet connectivity service called SkyDirect Premium targets
banks, pan-African NGOs and educational institutes. Currently, SkyVision is promoting its service in an offer called “The BIG Deal”, which combines the Internet service with a full C-band VSAT Kit. SkyVision also leases capacity to major pan-African mobile operators for mobile backhauling services.