Eutelsat… @ IBC2010 With Their SatShow…

[SatNews] Eutelsat is displaying a variety of digital solutions for broadcast and Internet markets at this year’s IBC in Amsterdam.

New Eutelsat services, technologies and satellites are designed to support broadcasters, service providers, telecom operators and Internet Service Providers, enabling them to enhance delivery of their digital services to professional and consumer markets. Eutelsat was the pioneer satellite company in Europe for TV broadcasting, and is once again breaking new ground with the launch in December this year of Europe’s first High-Throughput Satellite for broadband, data and video services. Due to enter service in spring 2011, KA-SAT will be the world’s most powerful multi-spotbeam Ka-band satellite, operating in combination with an advanced ground network of ten gateways linked by a high capacity fibre ring to four major European Points of Presence. The 70 Gbps of capacity provided by this new infrastructure will herald significant economic advantages for point-to-point video and data applications across Europe and the Mediterranean Basin.

The KA-SAT infrastructure will be the new European platform, powering the next generation of Eutelsat’s Tooway™ consumer broadband service, boosting consumer download speeds to 10 Mbps and uploads to 4 Mbps. At IBC, the new 77cm antenna and modem for Tooway™ will be on display for the first time. Currently available through Eutelsat’s HOT BIRD™ 6 and EUROBIRD™ 3 satellites, Tooway™ is already provided in Europe by more than 60 distributors in 30 countries. Leading telecom operators, ISPs and regional service providers have already integrated Tooway™ into their portfolio of broadband products, ensuring that homes and businesses beyond terrestrial networks can access digital services at high speed.

With the launch in spring 2009 of Europe’s first 3D demonstration channel, Eutelsat was the first satellite player in Europe to contribute to the new video revolution which is transforming the viewing experience in both out-of-home and in-the-home environments. Some of the flagship events delivered in 3D over the last six months by Eutelsat satellites include Six Nations Rugby, the FIFA World Cup and the French and US tennis championships. Eutelsat will show the commercial reality of this new video market, with a display of la 3D by Orange, France’s first commercial 3DTV service, broadcast from the HOT BIRD™ position to homes in France unable to receive video content via ADSL. This new venture from Orange will enable viewers to immerse themselves in live sports, cultural and music events and VoD content such as cinema and documentaries, and underscores how satellites are a key component of digital infrastructure.

While the universe of SD channels continues to expand — Eutelsat registering the arrival of almost 400 channels over the last 12 months — HD roll-out is accelerating as satellite payTV operators integrate premium HD content as a differentiating factor next to terrestrial platforms. Eutelsat’s range of video positions serving markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa are a key accelerator for HDTV. More than 150 channels are already broadcast, with leading pay-TV platforms, such as Sky Italia investing in HD technology to broadcast 36 HD channels today and 50 by 2011. Eutelsat forecasts that its satellites will be broadcasting over 500 channels in the coming five years. Eutelsat’s stand will display the crystal-clear definition of HD content broadcast from four video positions (13 degrees East, 16 degrees East, 9 degrees East and 5 degrees West) by SKY Italia’s SKY Sport channels, Albania’s DigitAlb and France’s FRANSAT platform, as well as i-concert (the HD Concert music channel).

Eutelsat is committed to expanding and constantly enhancing its in-orbit resources with new satellites adding greater operational flexibility, capacity and reach. Seven satellites are in construction and scheduled for launch over the coming three years, driving up capacity by 25 percent. They are…

The W3B satellite artistic rendition
• W3B — scheduled for launch end October 2010 to 16 degrees East, where its initial mission will be to renew and double capacity for digital TV in Central and Eastern Europe and French-speaking Indian Ocean islands. This new satellite will also open new resources for data services over Africa.
• KA-SAT will usher in a new era for satellite-delivered broadband services in Europe and in the Mediterranean Basin, and support development of video and data services.
• W3C satellite at the 16 degrees East orbital slot will allow W3B to be relocated to 7 degrees East, where it will be copositioned with Eutelsat’s W3A satellite. This configuration will enable Eutelsat to offer significantly enhanced security from 7 degrees East for clients requesting this service, and to increase operational transponders at this neighborhood by more than 50 per cent.
• ATLANTIC BIRD™ 7 will replace the ATLANTIC BIRD™ 4A satellite at 7 degrees West, a key video position for digital broadcasting in the Middle East and North Africa, operated in close collaboration with the Egyptian satellite operator Nilesat.
• W6A will replace the W6 satellite to increase by more than 50 percent the resources available at 21.5 degrees East, a core neighbourhood anchored for data, professional video and government services across Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.
• W5A will replace W5 to more than double resources available at 70.5 degrees East. It will be used for a range of professional applications that include government services, broadband access, GSM backhauling and professional video exchanges in Europe, Africa and Central and South-East Asia.
• EUROBIRD™ 2A is being built in the framework of a partnership with ictQATAR, representing the state of Qatar, its mission will be to replace the EUROBIRD™ 2 satellite at 25.5 degrees East. Its payload of 46 transponders in Ku- and Ka- bands will be shared with ictQATAR.