[SatNews] Hunter Communications Canada and Eutelsat Americas, part of Eutelsat Communications (NYSE Euronext Paris: ETL), announce that with the successful launch of the EUTELSAT 115 West B satellite from Cape Canaveral on March 1, a milestone has been reached for the provision of premium Ku-band bandwidth across Canada.
EUTELSAT 115 West B will provide a variety of services that include broadband, cellular backhaul, and VSAT solutions for industries that include oil and gas markets of Alberta, mining sectors in Northern Canada and maritime use for commercial and military applications.
Panasonic has been one of the first customers to take advantage of the benefits provided by this new satellite service offering. The partnership between Hunter and Eutelsat via EUTELSAT 115 West B will allow Panasonic to provide in-flight connectivity across the totality of the Canadian territory.
Brent Perrott, President of Hunter, stated, "We are pleased with our partnership with Eutelsat, which has enabled us to go from an initial phase of selling inclined orbit services on the Canadian market with EUTELSAT 115 West A to this important new phase with EUTELSAT 115 West B that adds significant capacity designed and dedicated for use over Canada."
Patricio Northland, CEO of Eutelsat Americas, further stated: "Hunter’s success using Eutelsat satellites reinforced our decision to serve the Canadian market with specifically designed high-performance resources. EUTELSAT 115 West B has been exceptionally well received by customers like Panasonic and we are excited by the prospect of making it available to customers in the region and to expanding services in new markets."
The multi-transponder agreement between Hunter Communications and Eutelsat Americas (then Satmex) was announced in 2012. Hunter was deeply involved in the design of the satellite’s Canadian service area, which offers an excellent solution for aeronautical, maritime and mobile land VSAT from the Aleutian Islands through the Canadian north. EUTELSAT 115 West B is a breakthrough all-electric satellite that is scheduled to go into full commercial service in late 2015 at the 114.9 degrees West orbital position.