Intelsat 25 enters service for Africa

Satellite operator Intelsat has increased the number of satellites it has serving Africa to 24 with the operational launch of Intelsat 25.

The operator acquired the ProtoStar 1 satellite, which was renamed Intelsat 25, late last year and repositioned it to 328.5° East. It has now commenced service, offering C- and Ku-band coverage of a substantial portion of Africa. The Intelsat New Dawn satellite is also scheduled to be launched this year and will join IS-25 to bring the number of satellites within Intelsat’s fleet that serve Africa to 25.

Separately, Intelsat has launched a new terrestrial network, IntelsatONE. Powered by Cisco, IntelsatONE is a global, terrestrial architecture, consisting of an IP/MPLS-based network, fibre, teleports and points of presence. It is integrated with Intelsat’s global satellite fleet. The operator says it provides a single source for converged voice, video and data solutions. In Africa, MTN Business, a provider of mobile and internet-based communications services, will use IntelsatONE through its multi-year contract that includes teleport services and hosting of its DVB-S2 platform in addition to capacity on the Intelsat 905 satellite, located at 335.5° East.