Eutelsat Powers up EUTELSAT 70B Satellite

PARIS, January 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) today announced the full entry into commercial service of the powerful EUTELSAT 70B satellite at 70.5° East. The seamless transfer of all traffic from the EUTELSAT 70A satellite was carried out overnight by Eutelsat's control centre, working in close collaboration with clients and providers of uplink services.

EUTELSAT 70B has been custom-designed to optimise resources at 70.5° East which has been occupied by a Eutelsat satellite since 2002 and is a point of reference for data services, broadband access, GSM backhauling and professional video exchanges. With high frequency reuse, four powerful beams with coverage of Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia are connected to 48 Ku-band transponders, more than doubling capacity at 70.5° East.

The new satellite's entry into service releases EUTELSAT 70A which will be redeployed to 25.5° East until the launch of EUTELSAT 25B in the middle of 2013. EUTELSAT 25A will be redeployed from 25.5° East to an alternative location.

About Eutelsat Communications

Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234) is the holding company of Eutelsat S.A. With capacity commercialised on 30 satellites that provide coverage across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and significant parts of Asia and the Americas, Eutelsat is one of the world's three leading satellite operators. As of 30 September 2012 Eutelsat's satellites were broadcasting more than 4,400 television channels to over 200 million cable and satellite homes in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The Group's satellites also provide a wide range of services for TV contribution, corporate networks and fixed and mobile broadband markets. Headquartered in Paris, Eutelsat and its subsidiaries employ just over 750 commercial, technical and operational professionals. This culturally diverse staff comprises employees from 30 countries. http://www.eutelsat.com

SOURCE Eutelsat Communications