Es’hailSat, the Qatar Satellite Company, and Arabsat signed a strategic partnership agreement to promote closer co-operation between the two companies and strengthen the 26 degrees East hot spot neighborhood for TV broadcasting.
Under the terms of the agreement, Es’hailSat will acquire the rights to 500MHz of premium Ku-band bandwidth at the 26.0 East TV broadcasting hot-spot. Es’hailSat’s second satellite, Es’hail 2, will use these frequencies and will be designed to provide DTH and other telecommunications services from the 26 degrees East hot spot.
This will significantly increase Es’hailSat’s capacity at the 25.5 / 26.0 East TV broadcasting hot-spot, and will strengthen Es’hailSat’s in-orbit back-up capability when both Es’hail 1 and Es’hail 2 are operational. Furthermore, the arrangement between Es’hailSat and Arabsat will pave the way for enhanced operational flexibility and mutual in-orbit back-up between the two satellite fleets.
The agreement was signed in Doha by Ali Al Kuwari, Es’hailSat’s CEO and Khalid Balkheyour, president and CEO, Arabsat in the presence of HE Dr. Hessa Al Jaber, Minister of Information & Communication Technology (Qatar) and Fareed Khashoggi chairman of the board of directors of Arabsat.
Commenting on the agreement, Al Kuwari, said: “We are delighted to be able to work with Arabsat on the development of the 26 degrees East prime TV broadcasting hot-spot. With our first satellite – Es’hail 1 – scheduled for launch on 29th August 2013 and our plans for Es’hail 2 now confirmed, we are moving closer to providing the necessary capacity to enable our customers to substantially increase their communications capability, particularly in broadcasting in HD and 3D”.
Balkheyour added: “We are very pleased with this strategic long-term partnership with Es’hailSat which will strengthen Arabsat hot spot 26 degrees East and will provide a strong boost for Es’hailSat. This partnership will provide our customers and viewers with more alternatives and variety of contents that will be beneficial for both operators and will make 26 degrees East the premium hot spot of the region“.
