SES has transferred capacity from the AMC-9 satellite following a significant anomaly.
The incident was noted on the morning of Saturday, June 17 and the company took immediate action in contacting all customers. It is now working to transfer services to alternative satellite capacity in order to minimise disruption.
AMC-9 provided Ku-band and C-band coverage over the US and Mexico. It was manufactured by Alcatel/Thales and launched in 2003.
SES is working closely with the manufacturer to establish the cause of the anomaly and evaluating all satellite recovery options.
The full impact of the anomaly is still being assessed.
In the event that the spacecraft cannot be recovered, the potential impact on SES’s full year 2017 group revenue could be up to €20 million.
In this event, it would also be expected to result in a one-off impairment charge of €38 million.