Eutelsat Communications has signed a ten-year agreement with Egyptian satellite company Nilesat for five transponders at the 7 degrees West orbital position.
The capacity will initially be placed on Eutelsat’s Atlantic Bird 4A satellite before being transferred to Atlantic Bird 7, which is scheduled to be launched for deployment to the position in 2011.
The new contract forms part of the strategic agreement signed between Eutelsat and Nilesat in March 2009, though the co-operation between the two goes back to July 2006, when Atlantic Bird was co-positioned with the Nilesat satellites at 7 degrees West. The position is used by both companies to broadcast to North Africa and the Middle East.
“We are really enthusiastic about this partnership with Eutelsat which concurs with the launching of our new satellite Nilesat 201 at 7 degrees West,” said Ahmed Anis, CEO of Nilesat. “This new capacity will definitely encourage new investment opportunities at 7 degrees West “the Orbital position of the Arab Families”.
Michel de Rosen, CEO of Eutelsat Communications, added: “Our continued close co-operation with Nilesat is making a core contribution to fuelling the transition into a fully digital broadcasting environment in North Africa and the Middle East. This new contract, to 2020, adds further weight to our relationship and strengthens our shared objective to leverage the 7 degrees West neighbourhood to serve some of the most dynamic markets for digital services.”
The four-satellite constellation already broadcasts over 660 television and 130 radio channels to users equipped for DTH reception.
