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Tag: Giuliano Berretta

  • Eutelsat selects Alcatel Alenia Space for W7 satellite

    MUMBAI: European satellite comunications firm Eutelsat and Alcatel Alenia Space have signed a contract under which Alcatel Alenia Space will manufacture and deliver Eutelsat’s W7 communications satellite.

    To be launched in second quarter of 2009 at Eutelsat’s 36 degrees East location, W7 will double the capacity currently available at a key neighborhood in the group’s fleet of geostationary satellites. Through a configuration of high-performance fixed and steerable beams, W7 will also boost coverage and flexibility for addressing growing markets, notably in central Asia and Africa.

    W7’s mission comprises up to 70 Ku-band transponders that can be connected to six beams serving Europe, Russia, Africa, the Middle East and central Asia. To be co-located with Eutelsat’s W4 satellite, which already serves anchor pay-TV operators in Russia, the Ukraine and sub-Saharan Africa, W7 will enable Eutelsat to almost double bandwidth for digital video services in these regions.

    It will also replace all capacity on Eutelsat’s Sesat 1 satellite which serves Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and central Asia, and bring fresh capacity to South Africa through a high-power fixed beam and to central Asia through a spot beam which can be reoriented in orbit. Following W7’s deployment at 36 degrees East, SESAT 1 will continue in commercial service at an alternative location.

    Weighing in at 5.6 tons and with 12 kW of payload power, W7 is based on the Alcatel Alenia Space Spacebus 4000 platform and will be boosted into orbit by Sea Launch.

    Eutelsat CEO Giuliano Berretta said, “Since 2000, we have proactively built our video neighbourhood at 36 degrees East into a prime location for digital markets in eastern Europe and Africa. This commitment has won the confidence of pay-TV operators who are pioneers in their markets, notably NTV Plus from Russia, Poverkhnost from the Ukraine and MultiChoice Africa which reaches large parts of sub-Saharan Africa through this neighbourhood.

    In order to support growth for broadcast and telecommunications services in these regions and to boost capacity for other markets, we looked closely at how we could even more efficiently exploit the resource at 36 degrees East.

    “With W7, this key position in our fleet will benefit from capacity enabling us to use the full spectrum of Ku-band frequencies, and to respond to market demands in multiple regions through a high degree of operational flexibility.”

    Alcatel Alenia Space CEO c says, “We are very pleased and fully committed to supporting Eutelsat sustainable growth. We are also very proud of working alongside Eutelsat to meet the increasing market demand and emerging new applications by delivering technologies with outstanding performance.

    W7 is the second satellite after W2A to be awarded by Eutelsat to our company in 2006. This contract further consolidates an historical year for our company: we have been chosen by a large number of operators, making us the world leader in the communications satellite market.”

  • SES, Eutelsat in JV to serve mobile broadcast markets

    SES, Eutelsat in JV to serve mobile broadcast markets

    MUMBAI: Sateelite operators SES Global and Eutelsat have announced a joint investment in the first European satellite infrastructure for broadcasting video, radio and data to mobile devices and vehicle receivers.

    In view of the innovative nature of this market SES and Eutelsat have agreed to join forces to form a new company, which will operate and commercialise the S-band payload on W2A. The company will be set up by SES Astra and Eutelsat following approval from relevant regulatory agencies. The S-band space segment represents an investment of
    approximately 130 million euros.

    The S-band (2.0 and 2.2 GHz), which represents a new frequency band for both SES and Eutelsat, provides a set of frequencies optimised for supporting a wireless distribution network for delivering video and other services to mobile devices, including phones, PDAs, laptops and vehicle receivers. Mobile video services represent a large and currently undeveloped market in Europe, emerging today through existing terrestrial solutions.

    The development of mobile video services through a satellite-based hybrid network will provide content providers and operators with alternative or complementary solutions to terrestrial based networks and will bring the benefit of the universal coverage that satellites can provide.

    Eutelsat has commissioned the W2A satellite from Alcatel Alenia Space for launch on Sea Launch in the beginning of 2009. W2A will be operated at 10 degrees East, with a state-of the art S-band payload which will be an essential building-block for a hybrid infrastructure over Europe, combining satellite and terrestrial networks, to provide both universal coverage and indoor penetration for mobile video services. The S-band payload has also been optimised for a broad range of business applications such as security surveillance and other commercial data services including two-way communications.

    SES Global president and CEO Romain Bausch says, “This joint investment will allow for the development of new, innovative satellite delivered mobile broadcast services thereby enabling satellite to compete with as well as to complement terrestrial infrastructure solutions in the mobile television and radio distribution chain. Satellite provides a unique and highly efficient coverage and the joint investment will therefore increase choice and convenience for consumers, content providers and service providers.

    “Mobile applications form an important element of our strategic development plan, and by joining forces with Eutelsat, this infrastructure investment offers an attractive business opportunity in line with our internal investment hurdle rates.”

    Eutelsat chairman and CEO Giuliano Berretta says, “Digital content and the mobility afforded by new portable devices lie at the heart of the current dynamic in the communications landscape, bringing new revenue streams for electronics manufacturers, content and service providers, as well as new products for consumers.

    “Through a resource, which is optimised in terms of bandwidth and universal coverage, satellite services using S-band frequencies can make a vital contribution to the overall success of the mobile broadcasting market while the design of the S-band payload is also fully suited for two-way communications. By adding this new payload to a platform using our traditional set of Ku-band and C-band frequencies it has also been possible to put in place an efficient and cost-effective solution for entering a new frequency band.”

  • Eutelsat awards contract to deliver Hot Bird 10 broadcast satellite to Astrium

    Eutelsat awards contract to deliver Hot Bird 10 broadcast satellite to Astrium

    MUMBAI: Global satellite operator Eutelsat has announced that Astrium will build the Hot Bird 10 broadcast satellite which will be launched in first quarter of 2009 and positioned at the Group’s 13 degrees East location.

    Following Hot Bird 8 and 9, it is the third high-power broadcast satellite based on Astrium’s Eurostar E3000 platform that will be located at Eutelsat’s premium video neighbourhood for cable and satellite broadcasting.

    The procurement of Hot Bird 10 underpins Eutelsat’s objectives to continue to renew capacity at its Hot Bird neighbourhood, to raise
    in-orbit redundancy and security for broadcasting clients and to increase overall flexibility across its satellite fleet.

    Eutelsat’s 13 degrees East neighbourhood broadcasts 950 television channels and 540 radio stations to 110 million cable and satellite homes across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

    Astrium’s Eurostar E3000 platform was selected by Eutelsat for the Hot Bird 8 satellite, which went into full commercial service this month, and Hot Bird 9 which was ordered from Astrium in May this year. With each satellite equipped with 64 high-power Ku-band transponders spanning the entire range of 102 Ku-band frequencies at 13 degrees East, they will together deliver customers security and in-orbit redundancy for the development of digital entertainment services and HDTV channels.

    Hot Bird 10’s deployment in 2009 will also enable Eutelsat to pursue its objective to develop video activities at other orbital locations. The new satellite will release the group’s Hot Bird 7A satellite from 13 degrees East in order for it to be repositioned at the 10 degrees East neighbourhood. The proximity of these two neighbourhoods enables reception of channels from both positions with a single antenna equipped with a dual feed.

    This new video mission will be initiated first by Eurobird 10 (formerly Hot Bird 3) which is scheduled to enter into service at 10 degrees East later this month, having completed its mission at 13 degrees East. Eurobird 10’s replacement by Hot Bird 7A will further increase capacity for video services in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa by providing up to 38 Ku-band transponders at 10 degrees East.

    Eutelsat CEO Giuliano Berretta says, “By boosting our resource at established and growing video neighbourhoods we are in a privileged position to benefit from the strong dynamic of broadcasting markets in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Hot Bird 10 will further consolidate our premium Hot Bird position and will also expand the associated resource we can offer broadcasters from 10 degrees East for standard digital television, High-Definition Television and new video services using MPEG4 compression.

    ” We are also very pleased to renew our confidence with Astrium who has demonstrated the performance of its technology in our new Hot Bird 8 satellite.”

    Astrium Satellites’ business unit CEO Antoine Bouvier said, “We are extremely pleased that Eutelsat confirms their confidence in our technology by ordering a third Eurostar E3000 to perfect the core of their prime broadcasting neighbourhood. Hot Bird 10 is a Eurostar E3000 satellite, identical to Hot Bird 8 and Hot Bird 9 with the same mission capacity. Hot Bird 10 is also the third satellite ordered by Eutelsat from Astrium this year, following W2M in February and Hot Bird 9 in May, and the seventh communications satellite contract overall won by Astrium in 2006.”

    Hot Bird 10 is the 15th satellite commissioned by Eutelsat from Astrium. With the early implementation of this programme the group is advancing in-orbit investments to 2007- 2009 which were originally forecast after 2010.

  • Eutelsat’s Hot Bird 8 broadcast satellite speeds into orbit

    Eutelsat’s Hot Bird 8 broadcast satellite speeds into orbit

    MUMBAI: The Hot Bird 8 broadcast satellite of Eutelsat Communications was successfully launched today by a Proton Breeze M launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 03.48 am Baikonur time 5 August. Weighing 4.9 tonnes, Hot Bird 8 is the largest and most powerful European Ku-band broadcast satellite to go into geostationary orbit.

    In less than 10 minutes after lift-off, the three-stage Proton vehicle supplied by International Launch Services (ILS) finished its climb into space, leaving the Breeze M upper stage to continue its mission for the next nine hours. The Breeze M’s engine underwent five burns to place the EADS Space- built satellite into a transfer orbit.

    The satellite was separated this morning from the Proton launch vehicle at 06.59 GMT with signal acquisition established by Eutelsat from its Rambouillet teleport near Paris. Manoeuvres that will be conducted over the next days include full circularisation of the satellite’s orbit and deployment of the solar panels and antenna reflectors, which will be followed by a series of in-orbit tests.

    Eutelsat Communications CEO Giuliano Berretta said, “Equipped with a payload which spans the entire range of frequencies at our 13 degrees East position, Hot Bird 8 takes our inter-satellite back-up to a new level of security. We are looking forward to bringing our new broadcast satellite into commercial service in October, less than six months since Hot Bird 7A went live at 13 degrees East. My particular thanks also go to our industrial partners, EADS Space for completing this important satellite programme and ILS for executing a faultless launch for our company.”

    Hot Bird 8 will assume all broadcast traffic currently carried by the 20-transponder Hot Bird 3, which will subsequently continue commercial service at an alternative location. The new satellite’s additional capacity will contribute to raising in-orbit security at Eutelsat’s Hot Bird video neighbourhood which broadcasts 950 digital channels to over 110 million cable and satellite homes across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

  • Eutelsat reports marginal revenue growth

    Eutelsat reports marginal revenue growth

    MUMBAI: FGlobal Satellite operator Eutelsat has reported revenues for the year and fourth quarter ended 30 June, 2006. Revenues for the year stand at 791.1 million euros. This represents an increase of 5.4 per cent.

    Eutelsat CEO Giuliano Berretta said, “Thanks to the strong increase of our activities we have generated growth of 5.4 per cent, which exceeds our objective for 2005-2006. This performance highlights the quality of the execution of our strategy: to consolidate our leading position in European Union countries, and to optimise use of capacity through the creation and development of major new video positions, and the continued expansion of value added services.

    “In particular, our satellites today transmit more than 2,100 television channels, representing over 400 new channels compared to last year, of which more than half are from central and eastern Europe, Russia, the Middle East and Africa. In addition, our D-Star broadband service, for which the installed base of terminals grew over the year by nearly 30 per cent has benefitted from sustained demand from service providers in emerging markets and in regions in Europe not satisfactorily covered by terrestrial broadband networks.

    “Meanwhile, the 14.5 per cent growth in Multi-usage stresses the attractiveness of our satellites in this opportunistic segment. With a growing portfolio of activities across our markets, Eutelsat reaffirms its profile as one of the leading operators in the most profitable sectors of the industry, combining long-term visibility and growth.”

    In European Union countries served by the Hot Bird and Eurobird1 positions, the number of channels grew by 16.7 per cent year-over-year, from 1,051 channels to 1,227. Expansion was driven notably by the increased offer from blue chip pay-TV platforms, including Sky Italia, BSkyB and TPS.

    The launch of the Hot Bird 7A broadcast satellite increased capacity at the Hot Bird neighbourhood to 102 transponders and enabled replacement of Hot Bird. This event marked the last major phase in the switchover from analogue to digital at the Hot Bird position, with only four analogue channels broadcasting as of June

  • Eutelsat reports marginal revenue growth

    Eutelsat reports marginal revenue growth

    MUMBAI: Satellite operator Eutelsat has reported revenues for the third quarter ended 31 March 2006.

    For the three months ended 31 March 2006, revenues rose to 195.1 million euros from 190.8 million euros in the same period last year representing a rise of 2.2 per cent. For nine months it rose to 590 million euros from 561.9 million euros representing a rise of five per cent.

    Eutelsat CEO Giuliano Berretta said, “We are very satisfied with the continuing solid commercial progress of the Group across our core

    activities of video, data and value-added services in Western Europe and emerging markets in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as the higher than expected revenues generated from multi-usage leases.

    “As a consequence of the good performance over the first nine months, and the comfort given by the successful launch on 11 March of our Hot Bird 7A broadcast satellite for our premium video neighbourhood, we are in a position to raise our revenue growth guidance from 2.5 per cent to more than 3.5 per cent for the fiscal year 2006.”

    During the third quarter, Eutelsat says that there was a healthy demand for video applications as well as for data and value added services. Video applications revenue was up 3.9 per cent year-over-year. This was mainly driven by lease of capacity for the XX Winter Olympic Games, including for the European Broadcasting Union and NHK, and contract wins, notably for NTV Plus in Russia.

    Data and value added services revenue grew 5.8% year-over-year led by continuous growth in value added services (+33.9 per cent at 7.5 million euros). This was principally driven by the roll-out of the D-Star broadband service for schools, regional administrations and enterprises beyond access to terrestrial broadband networks, despite delay in take-up resulting from the technical incident experienced by the W1 satellite in August 2005.

    Multi-usage leases rose 27.9 per cent year-over-year due to a high renewal rate of contracts for government services during the quarter and favourable US$/Euro exchange rates compared to the same quarter last year.

    Eutelsat has raised its revenue growth objective for fiscal year 2005-2006 from 2.5 per cent to more than 3.5 per cent.