Eutelsat expands Eurobird slot

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Eutelsat expands Eurobird slot


Paris-based satellite operator Eutelsat is investing in a new satellite for its increasingly important 9 degrees East slot. The high-capacity craft will add bandwidth for expansion beyond the current 320 channel neighbourhood already transmitting from Eurobird 9.

Eurobird 9B is being ordered from Astrium and will have 66 transponders on board, with re-useable frequency beams, allowing for considerable expansion of the existing high-definition bouquets, as well as allowing viewers to use a dual-feed antenna and thus pick up the many hundreds of channels already broadcasting from Eutelsat’s ‘Hot Bird’ adjacent position at 13 degrees East.

The new satellite will boost coverage for Italy, but also increase capacity over Germany, Greece and the Nordic/Baltic regions.

Scheduled for launch towards the end of 2014, the satellite will also carry a payload for the Italian Space Agency (ASI) which will be used for Italian institutional requirements.

 

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Eutelsat focuses on 9 degrees East slot
11.49 Europe/London, October 4, 2011 By Chris Dziadul

Eutelsat is to initiate a new satellite programme that will significantly expand and diversify resources at its 9 degrees East location, which covers high-growth video markets across Europe.

A high-capacity KU-band satellite called Eutelsat 9B, which has been ordered from Astrium, will make its debut in the 9 degrees East slot at the end of 2014.

The 9 degrees East position has been operational since 2007 and is currently occupied by the Eurobird 9A satellite.

Broadcasting 320 channels, of which over 10% are in HD, it is one of Eutelsat’s fastest-growing neighbourhoods.

Eutelsat 9B will have 66 transponders, with one pan-European footprint delivering wide coverage for channels seeking maximum reach into satellite homes and to terrestrial headends.

Four focussed footprints will individually address high-growth digital TV markets in Italy, Germany, Greece and the Nordic/Baltic regions.

Eutelsat 9B has also been selected by Astrium Services to host the first data relay payload for the European Data Relay Satellite System (EDRS) being implemented through a public-private partnership between Astrium and ESA.