W3C :: 16° EAST

The powerful W3C satellite, built for Eutelsat by Thales Alenia Space, has entered full commercial service at 16° East. Through its configuration of 53 Ku and three Ka transponders it will provide capacity for broadcasting and telecom/data services. High-power footprints of Central Europe and Indian Ocean islands will support digital video broadcasting markets while coverage of Africa stretching from Senegal to South Africa will serve data and telecom markets.

Over 11 million homes in Central Europe and 500,000 in Indian Ocean islands are already equipped to receive broadcast services from this longstanding Eutelsat neighbourhood. Pay-TV platforms and public and private broadcasters using W3C include SBB, Digitalb, TV Max, Tring, TV Romania and Al Jazeera Balkans that are addressing Central Europe via a high-power footprint optimised for the region.

A second regional footprint centred over Madagascar and Indian Ocean islands is serving the Canal+ Overseas, Parabole Réunion and Orange platforms as well as France Télévisions to support digital switchover in Reunion Island and Mayotte.

W3C also opens a new route to Africa, in a region stretching from Senegal to Madagascar, for data and broadband services as well as Direct-To-Home TV broadcasting. A new platform using Sat3Play® hub technology provided by Newtec is currently being installed at Eutelsat’s Sardinia teleport to provide broadband services for SOHOs, SMEs and consumers in western and central Africa. Commercial service is scheduled to begin in early 2012.