Intelsat has announced that it will launch a new satellite to provide incremental capacity in high-demand regions. Intelsat 22 is expected to be launched in Q1 2012 and to serve 72 degrees East location over the Indian Ocean region.
The design of the Intelsat 22 payload is optimised to address high growth service areas, to provide continuity of services and to support Intelsat’s strategic initiatives.
The satellite will supply 48 C- and 24 Ku-band 36 MHz equivalent transponders to network services and media customers in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, providing incremental capacity for commercial and government applications.
The Intelsat 22 satellite will feature custom-tailored beams to meet traffic patterns in these high-demand regions including C-band capacity for Africa and Asia, and an ability to cross-connect between the two regions.
Its Ku-band payload will provide coverage of the Middle East and East Africa, with connectivity into Europe. The Ku-band payload will include a mobility beam bridging South East Asia, the Indian Ocean and the coastline of Africa that will support Intelsat’s global mobility strategy for maritime and aeronautical applications.
The Intelsat 22 satellite will also host a specialized UHF payload for the Australian Defence Force, as announced separately today.
Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems will manufacture the satellite, though the launch provider has not yet been announced.