Eutelsats W3A communications satellite was successfully launched on 15 March by a Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
Eutelsat will bring its new satellite into service at 7 degrees East in May. It will replace W3 and substantially increase the business potential at a strategic orbital location in Eutelsat’s system, able to serve Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
“W3A has been designed to optimise the business potential at one of our longstanding orbital locations that already serves blue chip clients such as the EBU, Reuters, Digiturk and Hughes Network Systems,” said Giuliano Berretta, Eutelsat CEO. “In addition to supporting delivery of a full range of services to Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, this new satellite almost doubles our capacity over sub-Saharan Africa, thereby increasing our ability to serve users for business networks and for broadband services such as voice over IP, Internet access and distance-learning services.”
W3A’s full payload of 58 transponders (of which 50 can be simultaneously operated) is divided into four missions:
– 35 Ku-band transponders for Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, which will assume the full range of services currently carried by W3. This capacity can also be used in conjunction with Eutelsat’s Skyplex on-board processing facility which enables individual digital carriers to be uplinked to the satellite and multiplexed on-board. Up to eleven of the 35 transponders can be connected on the downlink into the widebeam over Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, or into a high-power beam optimised for south-east Europe and Turkey and reaching south into Ethiopia and Somalia.
– Up to 12 new Ku-band transponders over Europe, the Middle East and North Africa that will provide additional capacity for broadband services and can also be used with Eutelsat’s Skyplex on-board processing facility.
– Up to eight transponders for two-way communications between Europe and Africa. Six are forward-link transponders providing communications from Europe to Africa and two are return link transponders for communications from Africa to Europe. Communications over Africa are in the Ku-band and over Europe in Ka-band, with switching managed by the satellite. This is ideally suited for access networks with hub stations in Europe and terminals in Africa. Applications for this capacity include broadband Internet access, WAN/LAN interconnection, voice over IP, distance-learning and other videoconferencing services for businesses, government and aid agencies.
– Up to 3 Ku-band transponders for regional telecommunications in sub-Saharan Africa, also with possible access to Skyplex.