Intelsat and du Expand Television Program Distribution Solutions on Intelsat 10

Intelsat S.A. has partnered with du, a leading integrated telecommunications service provider, to jointly offer turnkey multichannel per carrier (MCPC) television program distribution solutions on the Intelsat 10 satellite.

Located at 68.5 degree east, the Intelsat 10 satellite offers a premier video neighborhood spanning Africa, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region. The new MCPC platform, part of the IntelsatONE network, will enable programmers in the Middle East to reach viewers in these growing regions. The platform leverages MPEG-4 and DVB-S2 technology to optimize bandwidth and offer cost-effective solutions for customers.

du will leverage its international fiber connectivity to bring content to the Middle East, and then uplink it from the Intelsat MCPC platform. du will host the new platform at its state-of-the-art teleport facility, located near Dubai Media City, which currently provides 221 television channels on various platforms. The MCPC services will include encoding, encryption, multiplexing, uplinking, and space segment. Customers can backhaul their channels to the teleport via fiber or satellite for insertion into the platform.

This new MCPC platform will strengthen Intelsat's presence in the Middle East and improve its service capabilities, allowing television programmers in the region to expand their reach across multiple continents. This collaboration will greatly improve the accessibility of the satellites and IntelsatONE ground infrastructure in this region, thereby supporting the strong demand for television programming originating in the Middle East.

ILS Proton Successfully Launches Space Systems/Loral Built ViaSat-1 for ViaSat

International Launch Services (ILS) successfully carried the ViaSat-1 satellite into orbit on an ILS Proton for ViaSat, Inc. ViaSat-1, weighing over 6.7 metric tons, is the highest throughput satellite ever built, with a total capacity in excess of 140 Gbps, more than all satellites covering North America.

The all Ka-band satellite will be positioned at 115.1 degree west longitude with an expected service lifetime of 15 years or more. ViaSat-1 was built on Space Systems/Loral's space-proven 1300 platform with 72 spot beams 63 in the United States, and 9 over Canada.

Newtec Lends Carrier Identification Counter-Measures for Combating Satellite Interference

Newtec has given its unreserved support for the standardization and adoption of industry-wide counter-measures to combat satellite interference. Interference of satellite carriers is a growing problem in the industry for users of satellite transmissions. There is an industry consensus that counter-measures should utilize the addition of carrier identification to enable the quick location and correction of misconfigured or unauthorized carriers.

DVB has accepted the topic of carrier ID as a work item and as a first step the commercial and market requirements will be captured within the commercial module and its relevant sub-group DVB-CM BSS. Once approved by the commercial module and steering board, such requirements will be passed on to the technical module of DVB to review various technical options from which a solution will be defined and selected that best meets the commercial requirements.

RRSat Launches Second DVB-S2 Platform on MEASAT-3a

RRsat is offering services on its second DVB-S2 MCPC platform on MEASAT-3a. The SD/HD video channels on the MEASAT-3/3a satellites currently reach over 50 million pay-TV households in the Middle East, North Asia, South Asia, South-East Asia, Australia/Oceana, and parts of Africa. RRsat has provided an end-to-end managed fiber and satellite uplink and teleport service, including optional playout, via MEASAT-3a since October, 2010.

The first RRsat DVB-S2 platform is booked almost entirely with HD/3D channels including Sky News HD, All Sports Network (ASN), GinxTV, iConcerts, BabyTV Asia, Bigfoot TV, Unitel Classica Asia, and Nat Geo Music.

Eutelsat Atlantic Bird 7 Satellite Goes Live

Eutelsat Communications has entered into commercial service of its high-capacity Atlantic Bird 7 satellite one month after its launch to 7 degree west. The transfer of all television channels on to Atlantic Bird 7 at 7 degree west from the Atlantic Bird 4A satellite was completed in the early hours of October 23, 2011 by Eutelsat's control center, working in close collaboration with broadcast clients and providers of uplink services.

More than 400 TV channels are now broadcasting via this satellite into almost 30 million homes located from the North-African Atlantic coastline across to the Gulf states. The satellite's increased Ku-band capacity delivers headroom for growth at the premier video neighbourhood in the region. Its significantly enhanced footprint will also enable broadcasters to expand reach into satellite homes, notably across North Africa and in the Gulf.

With Atlantic Bird 7's entry into service, Eutelsat is strengthening its relationship with Nilesat, the Egyptian satellite operator that also manages its own system of three satellites at the 7-degree west neighborhood. Nilesat is leasing new transponders on Eutelsat's satellite in addition to leases transferred from Atlantic Bird 4A.

The supplemental capacity will further anchor the 7-degree west neighborhood in the satellite broadcasting market across the MENA region, enabling Nilesat and Eutelsat to boost resources for digital channels and HDTV which is rapidly making inroads at 7 degree west, with 30 HDTV channels already broadcasting. Having completed its mission at 7 degree west, the Atlantic Bird 4A satellite is now released to continue full commercial service at another Eutelsat location. The satellite is being redeployed to 3 degree east to address data and telecoms markets in Europe and South-West Asia. It will be called Eutelsat 3C and will be co-located at 3 degree east with Eutelsat 3A.

Built for Eutelsat by Astrium, Atlantic Bird 7 is based on the Eurostar E3000 platform, with a launch mass of 4.6 tones and a spacecraft power of 12kW.

New SES Satellite ASTRA 1N Operational

SES S.A.'s new ASTRA 1N satellite has entered commercial service at the orbital position of 28.2 degree east.

Astra 1N will initially provide interim replacement capacity at 28.2 degree east. For the time being, the satellite greatly enhances the flexibility of the SES satellite fleet at the orbital slot 28.2 degree east over Europe. Astra 1N is notably being used by Channel 4 and ITV.

However, it will subsequently be moved to 19.2 degrees East, where it will mainly serve the German, French and Spanish markets.

ASTRA 1N was built by Astrium on the Eurostar E3000 platform and is equipped with 52 transponders in the Ku frequency band. The satellite was successfully launched on board an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana, on August 6, 2011. It had a launch mass of 5325 kg and is the fourth Eurostar satellite in the 49-satellite-strong SES fleet.

The new satellite will also allow SES to offer its satellite-based broadband service ASTRA2Connect via 28.2 degree east and thus complement its service offer from the 23.5-degree east position. Astra2Connect is a satellite broadband network with more than 80,000 end users.

Astra 1N was built by Astrium on the Eurostar E3000 platform and is equipped with 52 transponders in the Ku frequency band.

Asiasat Selects Space Systems/Loral to Provide Two Communications Satellites

Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), the leading provider of commercial satellites, and Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat), have signed two construction agreements for two communications satellites, AsiaSat 6 and AsiaSat 8.

The contracts include AsiaSat 6 with a C-band payload and AsiaSat 8, with both Ku-band and Ka-band. The two satellites will serve Asia, the Middle East, and Australasia and are designed on the decade's proven SS/L 1300 satellite platform, which provides the flexibility for a broad range of applications and technology advances. The satellites are planned to be launched by early 2014.

With these new contracts Space Systems/Loral has secured six satellite contract awards for 2011. AsiaSat 6 will have 28 high-power C-band transponders while AsiaSat 8 will have 24 Ku-band transponders and a Ka-band beam. The high-power transponders on the satellite will enable the use of small antennas on the ground.