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SES Renews Comcast Deal Ahead of C-Band Spectrum Clearing

By Mark Holmes | June 15, 2021
Photo: SES

Photo: SES

SES has renewed a key deal with Comcast Technology Solutions. The company announced, June 15 that it will continue delivering CTS’s Managed Satellite Distribution service, formerly known as Headend in the Sky (HITS), that reaches hundreds of multichannel video programming distributor systems across the U.S. CTS is a division of Comcast Cable that provides media and entertainment technology to advertisers, agencies, and content providers. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

As part of a new, multi-year extension agreement, SES will be transitioning CTS’s Managed Satellite Distribution service from SES-11 at 105 degrees West to AMC-11 at 131 degrees West. This is part of SES’s plan to clear the C-band spectrum in the U.S. to accommodate the deployment of 5G services in the coming years. SES is using advanced compression as part of the transition and is working with CTS to ensure its affiliates do not experience interference from 5G transmissions on the cleared spectrum.

“The current transition of satellite services in order to free up C-band spectrum represents a huge change for us and our partners. SES has been collaborative and hands-on, participating in webinars and outreach efforts to maximize response time for businesses, solve for problems before they occur, and provide clear transition paths for every impacted operation,” said Allison Olien, vice president and general manager of Communications and Technology Provider Suite for Comcast Technology Solutions.