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Il centro operativo
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MISSION SUCCESS FOR TRANSFER OF
SERVICES TO EUTELSAT’s W3A SATELLITE FROM W3 Eutelsat’s engineering excellence ensures smooth
satellite switch Paris 17 May 2004, Eutelsat announced today that its new W3A satellite
was successfully brought into full commercial service at 7 degrees East in the
nights of May 15 to 16 and May 16 to 17 with the seamless transfer of all traffic to the
new satellite from W3. In addition to assuming all services formerly
delivered by W3, Eutelsat’s new satellite substantially increases the business potential at
one of Eutelsat’s most longstanding orbital locations by providing more capacity and
extending coverage beyond Europe, the Middle East and North Africa to almost the
entire African continent. In addition to Ku-band capacity, Eutelsat has deployed Ka-band
frequencies and Skyplex on-board processing on W3A that in particular opens
opportunities for broadband services between Europe and Africa such as voice over IP and
Internet access. Following launch on 16 March, W3A was positioned in
geostationary orbit by Eutelsat in collaboration with prime contractor EADS Astrium
and Telespazio. The tests of the spacecraft bus, the first in the Eurostar E3000
series, were completed on 31 March and the payload was subsequently tested and
performance thoroughly verified during April on a test location. On 3 May, the satellite
was triggered to begin a slow move towards its definitive operational position at 7
degrees East. It arrived on station on 14 May and was prepared for the transfer procedures. The switch of services followed a meticulously
planned sequence of events over two nights, with corporate clients such as Reuters and
Hughes Network Systems being the first to move in the night of 16 May. In the
night of 17 May the European Broadcasting Union’s Eurovision network, Digiturk’s
pay-TV platform, RAI, TV Poland and other video clients were transferred. The
majority of the switch manoeuvres lasted fewer than 30 seconds with the longest
lasting fewer than 90 seconds. A number of clients commented on the switch of
service from W3 and the full entry into service of Eutelsat’s new satellite. They
included Jean Réveillon, Secretary General of the European Broadcasting Union, the
world’s leading broadcasting association: “We are thrilled to have the benefits
of this new satellite for upcoming events such as the 60th anniversary of the D-Day
landings, the UEFA Euro 2004 football and the Athens Olympics. The power and
coverage of W3A will be a real asset to the Eurovision network.” Mike Darcy, President of Hughes Network Systems
Europe added: “Hughes Network Systems has thousands of terminals pointed towards 7
degrees East that serve the critical communications requirements of our clients
in industry, retail, energy and government sectors. Eutelsat worked closely with us
to prepare a seamless switch of all our networks onto W3A and we are delighted to be
benefiting from the performance and reach of Europe's newest satellite.” Mark Grainge, Global Communications Director for
Reuters commented: “Service availability is a critical factor for our customers.
Our clients select our services to meet their real-time business and financial
information requirements on this basis. We were extremely satisfied with how Eutelsat
coordinated the transfer without any disruption to data delivery. It was particularly
important that W3A was co-located with W3, before the transfer, and I would like to thank
Eutelsat for their efforts in making this transition easy for us and the 10,000 clients
in 50 countries that we serve.” Eutelsat’s W3 satellite, which went into service
exactly five years ago, will start its drift later this month to 48 degrees East where it
will continue its full commercial mission for clients with requirements in Europe, the
Middle East, North Africa and central Asia. About Eutelsat With capacity commercialised on satellites that
provide coverage from the Americas to Far East Asia, Eutelsat is one of the world's
leading satellite operators. This satellite infrastructure gives the company the flexibility
to offer direct-to-home broadcasting, video distribution and contribution
services, corporate network solutions, positioning and communications services
for mobile users and a portfolio of IP applications which include broadband Internet
access and Internet backbone connections. Eutelsat has developed a range of
turnkey broadband products (DSTAR, D-SAT, OPENSKYä) for local communities, SMEs, SoHos
and consumers beyond ADSL access. It has also set up a subsidiary
called Skylogic Italia to market and operate broadband services through its
multimedia platform in Turin (Italy). Eutelsat's satellites broadcast more than 1,400
television and 700 radio stations to an audience of 110 million cable and satellite homes. |
