Eutelsat to expand 9° East position

Satellite operator Eutelsat has ordered a new satellite to expand its position at 9° East, targeting emerging video markets across Europe.

The new satellite, Eutelsat 9B, has been ordered from Astrium and will be launched at the end of 2014.

Eutelsat’s 9° East position is currently occupied by the 38-transponder Eurobird 9A satellite, broadcasting  320 channels, of which over 10% are in HD.

The 66-transponder 9B satellite will increase capacity at the slot by over 70%.  This will be spread across five footprints, with frequency reuse deployed to increase overall bandwidth.  One pan-European  footprint will deliver coverage for channels seeking reach into satellite homes and terrestrial and cable headends, while four focused footprints will individually address  high-growth digital TV markets in Italy, Germany, Greece and the  Nordic/Baltic regions.