SES Ka-band Broadband Service Coming in November

SES will launch its Ka-band SES Broadband satellite service in November, pending the launch and beginning of operations of its Astra 2F satellite, the operator confirmed Sept. 6.
   Astra 2F is currently scheduled for launch on Sept. 21 and will be located at the 28.2 degrees East orbital slot. The service will offer download speeds of up to 20 megabits-per-second (Mbps) and upload speeds of up to 2 Mbps and be marketed through SES partners NordNet, Vivéole and WIBOX to end-consumers in France. SES also signed a cooperation agreement with Gilat Satellite Technologies and Newtec to set up the hub infrastructure and to deliver the end-user terminals for the Ka-band service to its customers.
   “With Astra 2F and the subsequent launches of Astra 2E, Astra 5B and Astra 2G in 2013 and 2014, we will be able to further expand our satellite broadband service in Europe with the additional Ka-band capacity on our fleet,” SES Broadband Services Managing Director Patrick Biewer.