W5 satellite to bolster Eutelsat’s market presence in India

New Delhi: Eutelsat, the world's fourth largest satellite service provider, has announced that it has successfully launched W5 satellite on 21 November 2002 at 4.15 AM (IST), by a Delta IV rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

W5 will be positioned at 70.5 degrees East, a key orbital position that presents Eutelsat with the opportunity to substantially reinforce its market presence in the whole of Asia in complement to the company's SESAT satellite.

Says Eutelsat CEO Giuliano Berretta: “The launch of W5 sees Eutelsat continuing to fulfil its strategic objective of geographic expansion. We believe W5's central Asian position at 70.5 degrees East will become the satellite of choice for broadcasters, service providers and other users both for regional communications in Asia and connections between Asia and Europe.“

Equipped with 24 Ku-band transponders with 72 MHz bandwidth, W5 is configured with one fixed Widebeam covering Western Europe, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent and two steerable spotbeams. The steerable spotbeams can cover Northeast Asia, including the whole of China and Mongolia as far as Korea and southern Japan, and Southeast Asia as far as northern parts of Australia.

W5 vital characteristics Orbital position: 70.5 degrees East Payload: 24 Ku-band transponders Dowlink frequencies: 10.95-11.70 GHz, 12.50-12.75 GHz Transponder bandwidth: 72 MHz Coverages: One fixed Widebeam up to 46 dBW and 2 steerable spotbeams up to 48 dBW Lifetime: Minimum 12 years

W5 will be capable of delivering a full range of digital communications services: video distribution and contribution links, occasional-use video and particularly satellite news gathering (SNG), as well as Internet backbone connections. Through a new bundled turnaround onto Eutelsat's digital platforms on its Hot Bird broadcasting satellites that reach an estimated 96 million cable and satellite homes, Eutelsat will also be able to offer Indian broadcasters seamless connectivity directly into Europe.

Eutelsat is also perhaps the only satellite company offering dedicated Ku-band connectivity to its Indian customers for India to Europe, Europe to India, and India to India through Sesat satellite. Eutelsat already has substantial capacity dedicated to the South Asian market with its Sesat satellite. Sesat (36oE) features a fixed widebeam that extends over the Atlantic Islands to eastern Russia. In addition, it has a spotbeam centred over India to offer single hop connectivity between east and west.

Eutelsat SA is one of the world's leading satellite operators. The company provides coverage across four continents, encompassing Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, eastern North America, and South America. Eutelsat's satellite infrastructure gives it the flexibility to offer direct-to-home broadcasting, video distribution and contribution services, corporate network solutions and a portfolio of IP applications, including broadband Internet access and Internet backbone connections.

From its strategic Hot Bird orbital position at 13 degrees East and other orbital positions, Eutelsat transmits more than 1200 television and 600 radio stations reaching an overall audience of more than 100 million cable and satellite homes.