Eutelsat
Encyclopedia
Eutelsat S.A. is a French-based satellite provider. Providing coverage over the entire European continent, as well as the Middle East, Africa, India and significant parts of Asia and the Americas, it is one of the world's three leading satellite operators in terms of revenues.
Eutelsat’s satellites are used for broadcasting 3,800 television
and 1100 radio
stations to over 200 million cable and satellite homes. They also serve requirements for TV contribution services, corporate networks, mobile positioning and communications, Internet backbone connectivity and broadband access for terrestrial, maritime and in-flight applications. Eutelsat is headquartered in Paris. Eutelsat Communications Chief executive officer
is Michel de Rosen
.
Its main craft have traditionally operated from four positions, each separated by three degrees of the Clarke belt - 7, 10, 13 and 16°E; although more positions are now operated.
Initially established to address satellite communications demand in Western Europe, Eutelsat rapidly developed its infrastructure to expand coverage to additional markets, such as Central and Eastern Europe in 1989, and the Middle East, the African continent, and large parts of Asia and the Americas from the 1990s.
Eutelsat was the first satellite operator in Europe to broadcast television channels direct-to-home. It developed its premium neighbourhood of five Hot Bird
satellites in the mid-1990s to offer capacity that would be able to attract hundreds of channels to the same orbital location, appealing to widespread audiences for consumer satellite TV.
With the general liberalisation of the telecommunications sector in Europe, the IGO’s operations and activities were transferred to a private company called Eutelsat S.A. in July 2001.
In April 2005, the principal shareholders of Eutelsat S.A. grouped their investment in a new entity (Eutelsat Communications), which is now the holding company of the Group owning 95.2% of Eutelsat S.A. on October 6, 2005. Currently it owns 96.0 % of Eutelsat S.A.
Source: http://www.eutelsat.com/investors/pdf/ETL-consolidated-financial-statements-300609.pdf
, Eutelsat closed down transmissions of the Falun Gong
-linked TV station NTDTV in June 2008, which RSF accused of to appease the Chinese government. Eutelsat claimed that the shutdown was due to a technical failure, but Reporters Without Borders released an alleged transcript of a recorded phone conversation with an unnamed employee in Eutelsat's Beijing office. The caller pretended to be a government official from China's propaganda ministry, which the Eutelsat employee took for granted. The conversation indicated that the decision to shut down NTDTV was made by Eutelsat's CEO Giuliano Berretta, who awaited in return significant business deals with China. The transcript is available on Reporters Without Borders website. http://www.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/Transcript_Eutelsat-2.pdf Eutelsat was criticised heavily for the decision, and censured by the European Parliament. Following the European Parliament written declaration, Eutelsat immediately issued a press release, denying all charges of discrimination against NTDTV.
As of January 2010 rumors have surfaced that Eutelsat might be giving in to Kremlin pressure to terminate broadcast of the recently launched "First Caucasian Channel" in Russian. The pro-Western channel is operated by Georgian government to counter Russian propaganda in the Caucasus region.
Eutelsat’s satellites are used for broadcasting 3,800 television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and 1100 radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
stations to over 200 million cable and satellite homes. They also serve requirements for TV contribution services, corporate networks, mobile positioning and communications, Internet backbone connectivity and broadband access for terrestrial, maritime and in-flight applications. Eutelsat is headquartered in Paris. Eutelsat Communications Chief executive officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
is Michel de Rosen
Michel de Rosen
Michel de Rosen is the CEO of Eutelsat Communications and is a non-executive member of the board of directors of ABB Ltd. He was Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of ViroPharma Incorporated from August 2002 to May 2008...
.
Its main craft have traditionally operated from four positions, each separated by three degrees of the Clarke belt - 7, 10, 13 and 16°E; although more positions are now operated.
Satellites
Eutelsat commercialises capacity on 29 satellites located in geosynchronous orbit between 15 degrees West and 70.5 degrees East.| Satellite | Location | Regions served | Launch | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot Bird Hot Bird Hot Bird is the name of a popular family of satellites operated by Eutelsat, located at 13°E over the Equator and with a transmitting footprint over Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.... 6 |
13° East | Europe, North Africa, Middle East | Aug. 2002 | ||
| Hot Bird 8 | 13° East | Europe, North Africa, Middle East | Aug. 2006 | ||
| Hot Bird 9 Hot Bird 9 Hot Bird 9 is a communications satellite operated by Eutelsat, launched 20 December 2008 aboard an Ariane 5ECA carrier rocket along with the Eutelsat W2M spacecraft. It was built by EADS Astrium, based around a Eurostar E3000 satellite bus. It was positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 13°E... |
13° East | Europe, Africa, Middle East | Dec. 2008 | ||
| Eurobird 1 Eurobird 1 Eurobird 1 is a Eutelsat operated Eurobird satellite, used primarily for digital television. It is located at 28.5° east in the Clarke Belt, just within the range of most satellite dishes pointed at SES Astra's Astra 2A, 2B and 2D at 28.2° east... |
28.5° East | Europe | March 2001 | ||
| Eurobird Eurobird Eurobird is the name for a set of satellites owned by Eutelsat. The Eurobird satellites provide broadcasting and telecommunication services primarily to the Western and Central European region from orbital positions of 28.5, 25.5 and 33 degrees East.... 2 |
25.5° East | Europe, North Africa, Middle East | Oct. 1998 | ||
| Eurobird 3 Eurobird 3 Eurobird 3 is a communications satellite that offers capacity for broadband and broadcast services in Europe. It is owned by Eutelsat.... |
33° East | Europe | Sept. 2003 | ||
| Eurobird 4A (former W1) | 4° East | Europe, North Africa, Middle East, Central Asia | Sept. 2000 | ||
| Eurobird 9A (former Hot Bird 7A) | 9° East | Europe, North Africa, Middle East | March 2006 | ||
| Eurobird 16 (former Alantic Bird 4) and (former Hot Bird 4) | 15.8° East | Europe, Middle East | Feb. 1998 | Operating in inclined orbit | |
| SESAT 1 SESAT The SESAT 1 satellite, operated by Eutelsat, is the first of a series of SESAT satellites. It provides a wide range of telecommunications services over a very large geographical coverage area that extends from the Atlantic Ocean to Eastern Russia, including a large part of Siberia... |
16° East | Europe, North Africa, Middle East, Asia | Apr. 2000 | Operating in inclined orbit | |
| W2A W Series The W series satellites are six satellites operated by Eutelsat which provide various coverage and bandwidth options for consumer and business services in Europe, Asia and Africa... |
10° East | Europe, Africa, Middle East | Apr. 3, 2009 | S-band payload not yet entered into service due to an anomaly. Solaris Mobile filed the insurance claim and should be able to offer some, but not all of the services it was planning to offer. | |
| W2M Eutelsat W2M Eutelsat W2M is a W Series European communications satellite, which was launched on 20 December 2008 aboard an Ariane 5ECA carrier rocket along with the Hot Bird 9 spacecraft. It was built by EADS Astrium, based around an I3K satellite bus provided by the Indian Space Research Organisation... |
16° East | Europe, Middle East, Africa | Dec. 2008 | failed in orbit | |
| W3A W Series The W series satellites are six satellites operated by Eutelsat which provide various coverage and bandwidth options for consumer and business services in Europe, Asia and Africa... |
7° East | Europe, Middle East, Africa | March 2004 | ||
| W3C W Series The W series satellites are six satellites operated by Eutelsat which provide various coverage and bandwidth options for consumer and business services in Europe, Asia and Africa... |
16° East | Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, Indian Ocean Islands | Oct. 7, 2011 | ||
| W4 W Series The W series satellites are six satellites operated by Eutelsat which provide various coverage and bandwidth options for consumer and business services in Europe, Asia and Africa... |
36° East | Africa, Russia | May 2000 | ||
| W5 W Series The W series satellites are six satellites operated by Eutelsat which provide various coverage and bandwidth options for consumer and business services in Europe, Asia and Africa... |
70.5° East | Europe, Middle East, Asia, Australia | Nov. 2002 | Lost one of two solar panels June 16, 2008 | |
| W6 W Series The W series satellites are six satellites operated by Eutelsat which provide various coverage and bandwidth options for consumer and business services in Europe, Asia and Africa... |
21.5° East | Europe, Middle East, Africa | Apr. 1999 | ||
| W7 Eutelsat W7 Eutelsat W7 is a communications satellite in the W Series, operated by Eutelsat. It will be located at 36°E. It was launched by November 23, 2009 14:19 GMT, by a Proton rocket.... |
36° East | Europe, Africa, Middle East, Russia | 2009 | ||
| W48 W Series The W series satellites are six satellites operated by Eutelsat which provide various coverage and bandwidth options for consumer and business services in Europe, Asia and Africa... (former Hot Bird 2 and Eurobird 9) |
48° East | Central Europe, Middle East, Central Asia | Nov. 1996 | Operating in inclined orbit | |
| Atlantic Bird Atlantic Bird Atlantic Bird is the name for a set of satellites operated by Eutelsat operating over the Atlantic Ocean.Two of the original three satellites replaced the France Telecom Telecom 2 series satellites which Eutelsat had acquired in 1999.... 1 |
12.5° West | Europe, Middle East, Americas | Aug. 2002 | ||
| Atlantic Bird 2 | 8° West | Europe, Middle East, Americas | Sept. 2001 | ||
| Atlantic Bird 3 | 5° West | Europe, Americas, Africa | Jul. 2002 | ||
| Atlantic Bird 7 | 7° West | Middle East, North Africa | Oct. 2011 | ||
| Eutelsat Eutelsat Eutelsat S.A. is a French-based satellite provider. Providing coverage over the entire European continent, as well as the Middle East, Africa, India and significant parts of Asia and the Americas, it is one of the world's three leading satellite operators in terms of revenues.Eutelsat’s satellites... 3C (former Hot Bird 10 and Atlantic Bird 4A) |
3° East | Europe, South-West Asia | Feb. 12, 2009 | ||
| KA-SAT KA-SAT KA-SAT is a telecommunications satellite owned by Eutelsat. The satellite will provide broadband Internet access services across Europe and also a small area of the Middle East. It is positioned at 9°E, joining Eurobird 9A Ku band satellite. KA-SAT was manufactured by EADS Astrium, based on the... |
9° East | Europe | Dec. 2010 | ||
| Eutelsat Eutelsat Eutelsat S.A. is a French-based satellite provider. Providing coverage over the entire European continent, as well as the Middle East, Africa, India and significant parts of Asia and the Americas, it is one of the world's three leading satellite operators in terms of revenues.Eutelsat’s satellites... 3A |
3° East | Europe, North Africa | Jun. 01, 2007 | ||
Planned future satellites
| Satellite | Location | Regions served | Launch |
|---|---|---|---|
| W6A | 21.5° East | Europe, North Africa, Middle East, Central Asia | 2012 |
| W5A | 70.5° East | Europe, Africa, Central and South East Asia | 2012 |
| EUROBIRD 2A | 25.5° East | North Africa, Middle East, Central Asia | 2013 |
| W3D | 7° East | Europe, Africa, Middle East, Central Asia | 2013 |
| EUTELSAT 3B | 3° East | Africa, Middle East, Central Asia, South America | 2014 |
| EUTELSAT 9B | 9° East | Europe | 2014 |
Rented capacity
| Satellite | Location | Regions served | Launch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telecom 2D | 8° West | Western Europe | Aug. 1996 |
| Telstar 12 | 15° West | Europe, Americas | Oct. 1999 |
| Express AM22 (SESAT 2) | 53° East | Europe, North Africa, Middle East, Asia | Dec. 2003 |
Former satellites
| Satellite | Primary position | Launched | Inclined | Retired | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1F1 | 13° East | 1983 | 1989 | 1996 | |
| 1F2 | 7° East | 1984 | 1990 | 1993 | |
| 1F4 | 13°/7° East | 1987 | 1993 | 2002 | |
| 1F5 | 10° East | 1988 | 1994 | 2000 | |
| 2F1 | 13° East | 1990 | 1999 | 2003 | |
| 2F2 | 10° East | 1991 | 2000 | 2005 | |
| 2F3 | 16° East | 1991 | 2000 | 2004 | |
| 2F4 | 7° East | 1992 | 2001 | 2003 | |
| Hot Bird Hot Bird Hot Bird is the name of a popular family of satellites operated by Eutelsat, located at 13°E over the Equator and with a transmitting footprint over Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.... 1 |
13° East | 1995 | 2006 | ||
| W2 W Series The W series satellites are six satellites operated by Eutelsat which provide various coverage and bandwidth options for consumer and business services in Europe, Asia and Africa... |
16° East | 1998 | 2010 | ||
| W3B W Series The W series satellites are six satellites operated by Eutelsat which provide various coverage and bandwidth options for consumer and business services in Europe, Asia and Africa... |
16° East | 2010 | 2010 | ||
| W75 (former Hot Bird Hot Bird Hot Bird is the name of a popular family of satellites operated by Eutelsat, located at 13°E over the Equator and with a transmitting footprint over Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.... 3) and Eurobird 4 |
4° East | 1997 | 2011 | ||
Services
| Video Applications | Professional Data Networks | Broadband Services |
| Direct broadcasting of TV and radio | Private networks | IP backbone connectivity |
| Cable distribution | Data broadcasting | Virtual Private Networks |
| Satellite newsgathering | Business TV, videoconferencing | Broadband Internet access on ground, at sea, in-flight |
| Programme exchanges | Mobile services (messaging, positioning) | Multicasting and IP content distribution |
History
The European Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Eutelsat) was originally set up in 1977 as an intergovernmental organisation (IGO) to develop and operate a satellite-based telecommunications infrastructure for Europe. It started operations with the launch of its first satellite in 1983.Initially established to address satellite communications demand in Western Europe, Eutelsat rapidly developed its infrastructure to expand coverage to additional markets, such as Central and Eastern Europe in 1989, and the Middle East, the African continent, and large parts of Asia and the Americas from the 1990s.
Eutelsat was the first satellite operator in Europe to broadcast television channels direct-to-home. It developed its premium neighbourhood of five Hot Bird
Hot Bird
Hot Bird is the name of a popular family of satellites operated by Eutelsat, located at 13°E over the Equator and with a transmitting footprint over Europe, North Africa and the Middle East....
satellites in the mid-1990s to offer capacity that would be able to attract hundreds of channels to the same orbital location, appealing to widespread audiences for consumer satellite TV.
With the general liberalisation of the telecommunications sector in Europe, the IGO’s operations and activities were transferred to a private company called Eutelsat S.A. in July 2001.
In April 2005, the principal shareholders of Eutelsat S.A. grouped their investment in a new entity (Eutelsat Communications), which is now the holding company of the Group owning 95.2% of Eutelsat S.A. on October 6, 2005. Currently it owns 96.0 % of Eutelsat S.A.
Source: http://www.eutelsat.com/investors/pdf/ETL-consolidated-financial-statements-300609.pdf
Controversies
According to the media freedom advocate Reporters Without BordersReporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders is a France-based international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press. It was founded in 1985, by Robert Ménard, Rony Brauman and the journalist Jean-Claude Guillebaud. Jean-François Julliard has served as Secretary General since 2008...
, Eutelsat closed down transmissions of the Falun Gong
Falun Gong
Falun Gong is a spiritual discipline first introduced in China in 1992 by its founder, Li Hongzhi, through public lectures. It combines the practice of meditation and slow-moving qigong exercises with the moral philosophy...
-linked TV station NTDTV in June 2008, which RSF accused of to appease the Chinese government. Eutelsat claimed that the shutdown was due to a technical failure, but Reporters Without Borders released an alleged transcript of a recorded phone conversation with an unnamed employee in Eutelsat's Beijing office. The caller pretended to be a government official from China's propaganda ministry, which the Eutelsat employee took for granted. The conversation indicated that the decision to shut down NTDTV was made by Eutelsat's CEO Giuliano Berretta, who awaited in return significant business deals with China. The transcript is available on Reporters Without Borders website. http://www.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/Transcript_Eutelsat-2.pdf Eutelsat was criticised heavily for the decision, and censured by the European Parliament. Following the European Parliament written declaration, Eutelsat immediately issued a press release, denying all charges of discrimination against NTDTV.
As of January 2010 rumors have surfaced that Eutelsat might be giving in to Kremlin pressure to terminate broadcast of the recently launched "First Caucasian Channel" in Russian. The pro-Western channel is operated by Georgian government to counter Russian propaganda in the Caucasus region.