Eutelsat, the third largest satellite operator in the world (after Intelsat and SES) with 23 satellites, covers the entire European continent, as well as the Middle East, Africa, India and significant parts of Asia and the Americas.

Today Eutelsat announced a new satellite has gone operational; HOT BIRD 8. With a launch mass of 4.9 tons, HOT BIRD 8 is the largest and most powerful broadcast satellite serving Europe. The satellite has 64 Ku-band transponders which span the entire range of frequencies used at Eutelsat’s HOT BIRD neighbourhood for broadcasting more than 950 television channels and 550 radio stations to over 113 million homes.

HOT BIRD 8 is located at 13 degrees East, a popular location that has Eutelsats stacked like pancakes. Hotbird is the name of a family of satellites operated by Eutelsat, located at 13°E and with a transmitting footprint over Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

Built by EADS Astrium and launched on 5 August from Baikonour, HOT BIRD 8′s scheduled in-orbit life is expected to exceed 15 years. An identical HOT BIRD 9 was contracted in May 2006 for a launch in 2008. The size and configuration of HOT BIRD 8 enables Eutelsat to increase in-orbit redundancy at its premium video neighbourhood and releases HOT BIRD 3 for its new mission at 10 degrees East.

Eutelsat satellites are used for broadcasting more than 2,100 TV and 970 radio stations to more than 120 million cable and satellite homes. The Group also provides TV contribution services, corporate networks, mobile positioning and communications, Internet backbone connectivity and broadband access for terrestrial, maritime and inflight applications.

Eutelsat Communications is headquartered in Paris, and the Group’s workforce comprises over 490 employees from 27 countries.

The Top Fixed Satellite Operators, include Intelsat, which is buying PanAmSat, SES GLOBAL and Eutelsat. Inmarsat, provides maritime communcations.

• Intelsat, the second-largest global satellite operator with 28 satellites in orbit, plans to buy PanAmSat, the third largest operator with a fleet of 25 satellites to become the world’s largest satellite provider. Intelsat did a $3 billion deal with Apax Partners and Zeus Holdings Limited. Lockheed Martin owns a 24 percent stake in Intelsat, which is incorporated in Bermuda but is headquartered in Washington, D.C.PanAmSat earlier sold out to affiliates of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, The Carlyle Group and Providence Equity Partners, for approximately $2.6 billion. KKR now has 43.5 percent stake while Carlyle and Providence each hold 26.9 percent stake. PanAmSat owns and operates satellites worldwide as well as the AMC-16, a hybrid Ku- and Ka-band satellite will be ready for high-speed data and digital video services throughout the U.S.
• European-based SES GLOBAL had the largest satellite company, operating a fleet of some 35 satellites. SES Global agreed to buy rival New Skies Satellites for $760 million in cash last year, to boost its presence in Latin America and the Indian Ocean region.SES GLOBAL rests on a traditional shareholder base, which includes GE Capital, international financial institutions, and communications groups. It was born out of the combination of ASTRA, Europe’s leading provider of satellite capacity for direct-to-home reception, and US-based AMERICOM. Their network holds interests in; AsiaSat, Nordic Satellite AB, Nahuelsat, Star One, SATLYNX and WORLDSAT. The largest supplier of satellite services in the U.S., SES AMERICOM currently operates a fleet of 16 spacecraft in orbital positions predominantly providing service throughout the Americas. They also run AMERICOM Government Services to provide services for the military.

  SES ASTRA is the leading Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite system in Europe, delivering services to some 103 million Direct-to-Home and cable households. The ASTRA satellite fleet currently comprises 13 satellites, transmitting more than 1400 analogue and digital television and radio channels as well Internet services.

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Posted by Sam Churchill on Tuesday, October 3rd, 2006 at 3:28 am.