Eutelsat Benefits From Olympics

The Athens Olympic Games scheduled for this summer should provide additional business for a wide array of satellite industry companies. One of the deals involves Paris-based satellite operator Eutelsat agreeing to provide the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) with four wideband transponders that will be used for television coverage of the event.

For the duration of the Olympic Games, this agreement will double the capacity leased on a full-time basis by Eutelsat to the EBU. The additional satellite capacity will allow the EBU to provide private, direct point-to-point circuits between Athens and the headquarters of those television channels that will have their own TV crews and content aggregation facilities in Athens.

The contract is for the equivalent of 306 megahertz of Ku-band capacity on three Eutelsat satellites: ATLANTIC BIRD 3; e-BIRD; and W3A, the latest addition to the company’s fleet that is planned to enter into commercial service in May.