Eutelsat Inks Satellite Deal With InterSputnik

Eutelsat has concluded an agreement with the InterSputnik International Organisation of Space Communications, under which InterSputnik will sell Eutelsat’s satellite capacity and satellite communications services.

InterSputnik Director General Gennady Kudryavtsev said: “The agreement with Eutelsat makes it possible for InterSputnik to offer its customers state-of-the-art products and services based on the integration of advanced satellite and terrestrial technologies.”

According to Eutelsat CEO Giuliano Berretta, the deal offers the satellite operator “considerable commercial potential.” InterSputnik uses capacity on four geostationary satellites and provides fixed-satellite services to global telecoms operators and corporate users. InterSputnik hopes to significantly expand its customer base through the Eutelsat deal.

In a busy week for the operator, Eutelsat also announced Aug. 22 that its HOT BIRD 6 satellite had been successfully launched. An Atlas 5 booster launched the satellite from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Vanessa O’Connor, a Eutelsat spokeswoman, told Interspace that the satellite launch was the operator’s first entrance into the Ka-band and that it was adopting a phased approach towards Ka-band deployment.

Eutelsat hopes HOT BIRD 6 will facilitate the launch of new broadband services for connecting sites and for “micro-broadcasting.” The satellite will be located at 13 degrees East longitude. Eutelsat’s 13 degrees East position hosts its family of HOT BIRD broadcasting satellites that deliver more than 600 television channels and 475 radio stations to an audience of nearly 93 million cable and satellite homes in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. –Mark Holmes