A NEW WAVE OF MOBILE BROADCASTING
Eutelsat and SES Global announce plans to invest in S-band

Eutelsat and SES Gobal are to invest in Europe’s first satellite infrastructure in the S-band for broadcasting content, including TV channels, IP data and security-based
services, to handheld devices and receivers in vehicles. VIA talked to Antonio Arcidiacono, Director of Innovation at Eutelsat, about the joint venture that will operate and commercialise S-band frequencies on Eutelsat’s W2A satellite.

What makes the S-band so attractive?
Across Europe there is increasing demand to broadcast TV, multimedia content and data to mobile devices. There are, however, only very limited terrestrial frequencies available to meet this demand, before the switch-off of analogue television. The S-band frequency between 2.17 and 2.2 GHz is reserved for satellite only and not used in Europe today, providing an ideal spectrum for a mobile TV service. Another key advantage of the S-band is that satellites cover 100% of their intended markets, so mobile services can be extended beyond urban centres to rural areas or where there is no terrestrial broadband infrastructures.

Why is Eutelsat not developing the S-band on its own?
S-band is a new area for both companies, and compared to our core businesses, it really is a niche market. After analysing the situation for some time, we both came to the conclusion that it would make sense to join forces to develop this new European communications market. We can work with one standard, one infrastructure, and roll-out the solution together.

Do you see the technical approach in direct competition to DVB-H?
Not at all. Both networks are complementary, and the new DVB-SH standard has been specifically designed with this objective in mind. The S-band can be used either to extend the coverage of the DVB-H service nationwide, or to provide additional bandwidth to add more channels to the mobile TV offering.

How would you describe the solution?
It will consist of a hybrid satellite and terrestrial based mobile infrastructure to broadcast a wide range of content including TV channels, IP data and security-based services, direct via satellite or indirect via terrestrial transmitters, to mobile devices, including handhelds and reception units in vehicles. Our joint venture covers the satellite part, and we are looking for partners for the terrestrial part of the business, including mobile operators, broadcasters or industrial groups with activities in these fields.

How many TV channels could be transmitted via S-band?
In a mobile environment, one TV channel requires between 256 and 384 kbps. That means 10 – 15 channels via satellite per 5 MHz slot. In addition, thanks to our hybrid approach, an additional 18 – 36 terrestrial channels can be broadcast terrestrially.

Which European markets is the solution aimed at?
The S-band payload of our W2A satellite is combined with six regional beams offering complete coverage of the markets in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland and UK/Ireland. At the start, we would like to concentrate on two or three of these key markets.

Do you also plan to address end-users with the new service?
No, we will only address regional service providers. That might be mobile operators as well as content providers, who offer the services in their particular markets. These providers will order the capacity they need for their services from us as well as from the operators of the terrestrial networks.