SES Ships ASTRA 2E Satellite For Launch, Renews Bevy of Asian Partnerships

Eleven days after the successful launch of the SES-6 satellite on board an ILS Proton booster, the ASTRA 2E satellite has safely arrived at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The spacecraft will now be processed for a July 21st launch (local time Baikonur) on board a Proton launch vehicle.

ASTRA 2E was built for SES by Astrium of France. Based on the highly reliable Eurostar E3000 platform, the spacecraft will carry 60 Ku-band transponders, as well as 3 wideband Ka-band transponders. It will enable the delivery of next generation broadcast and broadband services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa at the neighborhood of 28.2° East. ASTRA 2E will have a launch mass of 6 tonnes, a wingspan of 40m once its solar arrays are deployed in orbit, and a spacecraft power of 13kW at the end of its 15-year design lifetime.

ASTRA 2E will be the seventh Eurostar satellite in the SES fleet, following the successful launch of SES-6 in June 2013 and ASTRA 2F in September 2012.

SES, IPMTV Broaden Parnership
Thailand’s IPMTV has broadened its partnership with SES. The broadcaster has contracted additional capacity on SES-8 and has renewed its multi-year capacity deal on NSS-6. SES-8 is expected to be launched later in 2013 and will be co-located with NSS-6 at the prime orbital location of 95 degrees East.

“At SES, we believe in growing with our customers and our upcoming satellite, SES-8, is testament to our commitment to the Asia-Pacific region,” said Deepak Mathur, Senior Vice President Commercial, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East at SES. “When launched, SES-8 will bring vital expansion capacity to thriving Asian video neighbourhoods in South Asia and Indochina and enable us to support customers such as IPMTV as they continue to grow. We are delighted to support IPMTV’s expansion into even more homes in Thailand.”

The expanded capacity will enable IPMTV, an established satellite TV provider, to double its reach to 4 million households in Thailand by the end of the year. It currently broadcasts over 150 local channels to its subscribers, with 21 channels in High Definition.

“In addition to reaching more homes, the additional capacity will enable us to broadcast local content, allowing us to fill a gap in the broadcasting landscape which cannot be met easily by international players,” said Manop Tokarnka, CEO, IPMTV. “We are delighted that we now have the flexibility to cover the news and events that resonate best with local audiences. We have a strong partnership with SES and look forward to exploring the development of HD content in Thailand in the future.”

Pakistan’s Supernet Signs Multi-Year Contract Foir GSM Backhaul
SES announced at CommunicAsia2013 a multi-year multi-million dollar contract renewal with Supernet, Pakistan’s leading satellite network service provider. The deal will see Supernet contract C-band capacity on the SES NSS-12 satellite at the prime orbital location of 57 degrees East.

“SES is a trusted partner and an industry leader,” said Hamid Nawaz, COO Supernet Limited. “We and our customers are extremely satisfied with the performance of the NSS-12 satellite throughout our networks. We are happy to enhance our relationship with SES as we continue to provide world class cellular backhaul solutions in Pakistan and in the region.”

This satellite capacity, coupled with Supernet’s strong system integration capabilities, provides a high quality GSM backhaul services to Pakistan’s leading mobile operators. The capacity is expected to further improve network coverage in Pakistan by providing voice and data signals to remote mountainous areas in the northern region and hard to reach southern regions.

“We have been working with Supernet since 2010 and are delighted to be able to support their growth, as the cellular industry continues to enjoy tremendous growth across Pakistan,” said Mathur. “Supernet will be able to benefit from the great location of NSS-12 to enable the delivery of voice and data to underserved markets and rural areas in the country.”

MediaScape/Cignal TV Extend Partnership with SES
SES announced a new multi-year, multi-transponder deal with one of its largest customers in the Philippines, MediaScape Inc, on SES-7 at 108.2 degrees East.

The new capacity expansion will allow MediaScape, through Cignal Digital TV – its Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite television service provider – to further expand its services for the provision of DTH satellite TV in the Philippines. Cignal Digital TV currently offers 22 High Definition (HD) channels and 65 Standard Definition (SD) channels to more than half a million subscribers across the Philippine archipelago.

“SES-7 is a powerful satellite for the Philippines, providing comprehensive coverage and high throughput across the Philippine islands,” said Mathur. “We are happy to be able to provide MediaScape with the additional capacity they need to help them meet the needs of their growing audiences and maintain their leading position in DTH satellite TV in the country.”

“We have seen tremendous growth in subscriber numbers and demand for quality HD content,” added Annie Naval, MediaScape COO & Managing Director. “We are confident that extending our partnership with SES will allow us to maintain our position as the leader in DTH satellite TV in the Philippines by expanding our HD lineup to include a wider variety of premium programmes.”

Teleport Access Services Renews Capacity Deal to Deliver Across Taiwan
Global Taiwanese communications provider Teleport Access Services (TAS) has also renewed capacity with SES to deliver a variety of TV programmes and live coverage of breaking news throughout Taiwan via SES’ NSS-11 satellite located at 108.2 degrees East.

“Taiwan is one of the most competitive media landscapes in Asia, with a high TV penetration rate and audiences that are accustomed to receiving breaking news immediately,” said Michael Kuo, President of TAS. “Having been able to rely on SES for the past four years, we chose to extend our partnership and continue to utilise NSS-11 at this prime orbital location covering Taiwan. We are delighted to be able to leverage SES’s expertise to broadcast more channels to meet our growing business needs.”

TAS, a longstanding SES customer and the largest distributor of cable channels to cable headends in Taiwan, will use the capacity to broadcast TV content and provide satellite news gathering (SNG) services across the island.