NSS-12 begins commercial service

SES World Skies has announced that the NSS-12 satellite has entered commercial service at the 57° East orbital position.

The satellite, which was launched on October 29, 2009, replaces NSS-703 to cover Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia. All traffic on NSS-703 has now been transferred to NSS-12.

SES said the satellite reaches an estimated two-thirds of the world’s population. It features 40 C-band transponders and 48 Ku-band transponders and will deliver DTH services via four regional Ku-band spot beams over the Middle East, Europe, Central and Southern Asia and, for the first time, eastern Africa. The satellite also includes two C-band hemispheric beams – one covering Europe, Africa (including Mauritius) and the Middle East, and the other stretching across Asia to Australia.