Spanish satellite telecommunications operator Hispasat has completed an agreement with satellite services provider Intelsat to jointly supply satellite services at the 55.5ºW orbital position. The agreement will allow both companies to further enhance their positions in Latin America.
Under the agreement, Hispasat’s Amazonas 1 satellite will provide both operators immediate growth capacity within Latin America for the next two years. Hispasat will use the Amazonas 1 from this new position to provide part of the audiovisual services for the World Cup in Brazil. Hispasat and Intelsat will cooperate at the orbital location, sharing orbital resources to expand services available for media and other customers in the region.
Carlos Espinós, CEO of Hispasat, stated: “This deal enables Hispasat to fully exploit the capability and service life of Amazonas 1 and to operate at a new orbital position, thereby further strengthening the Group’s position in Latin America.”
Meanwhile, also in the region, SES has launched a new video distribution neighborhood for Latin America and a new antenna seeding programme for the NSS-806 satellite located at 47.5 degrees West. The new neighborhood will provide new capacity for expansion of video channel delivery to cable head-ends throughout Latin America, as well as much needed capability to accommodate the increasing number of HD channels in the region.
Concurrently, SES announced the launch of a new antenna seeding programme for all cable head-ends in Latin America. The antenna programme will be managed by Encompass Digital Media’s Latin American operation (formerly TIBA), including procurement, distribution and logistics. The goal is to provide comprehensive reach to all cable head-ends from Mexico to Argentina.
“This is a major commitment from SES to the Latin America market,” explained Dolores Martos, VP Sales, Latin America. “SES satellites continue to be a top choice among broadcasters and content providers across Latin America. This latest initiative with NSS-806 allows television programmers, government organisations and broadcasters to benefit from the satellite’s key position, wide coverage, redundancy possibilities, and imminent antenna reach.”
Encompass Latin America has contracted with SES for multiple transponders to deliver premium international and domestic channels throughout Latin America.
In other news, Via Sat Brasil has concluded a multi-year contract with Eutelsat do Brasil, the Brazilian affiliate of Eutelsat Communications, for the entire High Throughput payload on the EUTELSAT 3B satellite that launched on 26 May.
Working closely with Via Sat Brasil, Eutelsat will configure the Ka-band payload on its new satellite to deliver full coverage of Brazil via five steerable Ka-band spotbeams. It is the first time that Brazil will benefit from nationwide satellite coverage in the Ka-band to complement fixed and mobile terrestrial infrastructure used for broadband services.
Antonio Castro, CEO of Via Sat Brasil, commented: “Via Sat Brasil is very excited about the arrival of EUTELSAT 3B over all of Brazil. Its unique architecture will enable us to offer high-quality ICT solutions that will reduce the digital divide across the entire country. Thanks to the broadband service we will offer, no business will be deprived of the opportunity to grow because connectivity simply doesn’t meet their requirements.”
Michel de Rosen, Chairman and CEO of Eutelsat, added: “This landmark agreement with Via Sat Brasil reflects our strategy to provide bespoke satellite resources for market-leading partners in key countries in Latin America. Our broadband customers want the assurance that their satellite partner has the highest levels of understanding of IP markets and this is where Eutelsat has a competitive edge.”
This story also appears on IBC’s Content Everywhere.
