Scott Nicholas
Intelsat has launched a Boeing-manufactured high throughput satellite aboard an Ariane 5 launch vehicle on Wednesday from French Guiana as part of a project designed to bring C- and Ku-band capacity to Africa, Europe, Middle East and Asia.
Intelsat said Wednesday Intelsat 33e, the second of a planned seven EpicNG satellite project, will join Intelsat 29e to form a high-throughput overlay to the company’s fleet of wide beam satellites.
The new satellite combines wide beams and spot beams with frequency reuse technology to provide satellite connectivity for applications such as Internet of Things, enterprise, wireless infrastructure, aeronautical and maritime mobility.
“Intelsat 33e and the Intelsat EpicNG architecture are fully backwards compatible and interoperable with Intelsat’s existing satellite fleet and terrestrial infrastructure … The 2018 launch of our Horizons 3e satellite will complete our global coverage, adding the Pacific Ocean region,” said Stephen Spengler, Intelsat CEO.
Spengler added the launch of Intelsat 33e, which will replace Intelsat 904, supports the company’s goal to develop the first global, fully interoperable wide beam and high throughput Ku-band broadband service.
