JOHANNESBURG, May 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
21-24 May 2012, Sandton
Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South
Africa, Stand 26
- Closing the infrastructure gap in Africa: innovative satellite solutions for
affordable broadband access
- Launch of IP Easy service from Gulf of Guinea to Madagascar
- Eutelsat video positions: a preferred choice for
broadcasters reaching viewers across Africa and Indian Ocean Islands
- More than 50% of satellite channels in these regions already
broadcasting via Eutelsat
- Broadcasting resources to support progressive digital
switchover
- Connecting Africa to the
world
- Two new Eutelsat satellites to enhance connectivity between
Africa, Europe, Middle
East, Asia
With ICT development high on the agenda of all African
countries, the annual Satcom Africa conference in Johannesburg is showcasing the long-term role
played by satellite technologies in delivering affordable and
ubiquitous access to digital services. Eutelsat Communications
(Euronext Paris: ETL), one of the world's leading satellite
operators, is at this key industry event to demonstrate new
resources and solutions optimised to support markets for digital
broadcasting, GSM backhauling, IP trunking, VSAT networks and
broadband access.
Closing the infrastructure gap in Africa: IP Easy affordable IP access
launches on EUTELSAT 16A
In the broadband market, Eutelsat is taking the opportunity of
SatCom Africa to unveil a new platform called IP Easy, a new
platform to extend high-speed Internet access to residential and
home office users as well as small and medium-sized enterprises
across sub-Saharan Africa.
Combining the strengths of Ku-band capacity on the
recently-launched EUTELSAT 16A satellite with Newtec's successful
Sat3Play® technology, IP Easy is available in a service area
stretching from the Gulf of Guinea
to Madagascar. The service
delivers downlink speeds of up to 4Mbps and can support VOIP and
reception of TV channels, in triple play mode. The selection of
Newtec's Sat3Play® product which uses Point&Play
self-installation also enables end users to autonomously install
the complete system with no specific qualification needed or
expensive tooling.
Broadcast satellites: the star
performers for multi-channel reception in Africa
As the main platform for multi-channel reception, satellite is
the star performer for broadcast services in Africa. Broadcast satellites deliver reach for
nationwide and regional coverage and bandwidth for pay-TV platforms
aggregating a diverse range of content including High-Definition
television. According to Datixis, the number of satellite homes in
Africa will experience a solid
year-to-year growth in the coming years, up from 4.5 million in
2010 to 8.7 million in 2015 (+ 13% CAGR).
Channel growth in Africa and Indian Ocean outstrips all
markets
Over 50% of the 1,250 satellite TV channels currently
broadcasting in Africa and Indian
Ocean islands use one of Eutelsat's market-leading video
neighbourhoods. This means that 15% of the more than 4,000 TV
channels broadcasting via Eutelsat are addressing these
fast-developing markets.
Two key Eutelsat video neighbourhoods are driving growth:
- The 36° East neighbourhood occupied by EUTELSAT 36A and 36B is
one of the two top positions for satellite TV across Africa. The DStv platform owned by MultiChoice
and ZAP owned by ZON, the Portuguese operator, have both benefited
from Eutelsat's continued investment in capacity at 36° East. New
resources have facilitated the arrival of over 170 channels in two
years, taking the count at 36° East to 300 channels.
- The 16° East neighbourhood, already selected by Canal+
Overseas, Orange, Parabole Réunion and France Télévisions, is the
broadcasting point of reference in Indian Ocean islands. Channels
broadcasting from this neighbourhood increased by 40% to almost 150
in the 24 months to end 2011. The launch of the EUTELSAT 16A
satellite in October 2011 was a new
landmark for 16° East increasing capacity and extending reach to
open new broadcast opportunities in Western and Central Africa.
In addition to long-term favourable trends in pay-TV, the
roll-out of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) across
Africa is expanding opportunities
for satellite services. As African nations progressively move
towards analogue switch-off, satellites are being called on for
cost-effective delivery of digital multiplexes to terrestrial
towers and for direct reception. Pioneering clients using Eutelsat
for DVB-T broadcast delivery include the StarTimes platform that
uses two Eutelsat satellites to transmit to terrestrial
retransmitters in 10 African countries and recently announced sales
of over one million set-top-boxes.
New satellites to launch for
Africa to enhance connectivity
between Middle East, Europe, Asia,
Africa
Two new innovative and highly flexible satellite programmes will
be showcased at SatCom Africa: EUTELSAT 70B, due for launch end
2012, and EUTELSAT 3B, to be launched in early 2014.
These satellites are designed to provide ISPs, telecom and
mobile phone operators, video companies and government service
providers with regional coverage and connectivity between
Africa, Europe, the Middle
East, Asia and as far as
Australia.
- Unique of its kind, EUTELSAT 70B is designed to optimise
resources from a single orbital slot at the crossroads between
Europe, Africa, Asia
and Australia. With high frequency
reuse, four powerful regional beams connected to 48 Ku-band
transponders will be located on a single platform. EUTELSAT 70B
will more than double current capacity at 70.5° East for data and
government services, broadband access, GSM backhauling and
professional video exchanges.
- EUTELSAT 3B is a tri-band satellite (C, Ku, Ka) designed to
increase and diversify resources for markets in Africa, the Middle
East, Central Asia and
South America. Users will select
the most relevant frequency band for different types of service. Ku
and C-band capacity will further consolidate response to broadcast
and data markets. High throughput beams in the Ka-band, that will
be individually steerable to regional and national markets and
operated with scalable allocation of power and spectrum, will
support innovative applications in bandwidth-demanding
markets.
Where to meet us at SatCom Africa
Stand 26
TV Show 22 May / 11:00
The African satellite TV market and prospects for growth
Speaker: Aymeric Genty, Eutelsat
Sales Director - France and
Sub-Saharan Africa
Satcom Show 23 May / 11:30
Future Opportunities for telcos in Sub-Saharan Africa
Speaker: Jean-François Fremaux, Eutelsat Director of Business
Development
Learning Theatre: 22 May / 15:45
Affordable broadband Internet access solutions for sub-Saharan
Africa
Speaker: Jean-François Fremaux, Eutelsat Director of Business
Development
23 May / 15:45
Driving broadcasting services via satellite in Africa
Speaker: Gaethan Donlap Kouanga, Eutelsat Sales Manager
Africa
About Eutelsat Communications
Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code:
FR0010221234) is the holding company of Eutelsat S.A.. With
capacity commercialised on 28 satellites that provide coverage over
the entire European continent, as well as the Middle East, Africa, India
and significant parts of Asia and
the Americas, Eutelsat is one of the world's three leading
satellite operators in terms of revenues. As of 31 March 2012, Eutelsat's satellites were
broadcasting more than 4,250 television channels. More than 1,100
channels are broadcast via its HOT BIRD video neighbourhood at 13
degrees East alone which serves over 120 million cable and
satellite homes in Europe, the
Middle East and North Africa. The Group's satellites also
serve a wide range of fixed and mobile telecommunications services,
TV contribution markets, corporate networks, and broadband markets
for Internet Service Providers and for transport, maritime and
in-flight markets. Eutelsat's broadband subsidiary, Skylogic,
markets and operates access to high speed internet services through
teleports in France and
Italy that serve enterprises,
local communities, government agencies and aid organisations in
Europe, Africa, Asia
and the Americas. Headquartered in Paris, Eutelsat and its subsidiaries employ
just over 750 commercial, technical and operational professionals.
This culturally diverse staff includes employees from 30 countries.
http://www.eutelsat.com
SOURCE Eutelsat Communications