EUTELSAT 172B enters service over Pacific

Eutelsat Communications’ EUTELSAT 172B satellite, which was launched in June, went into full commercial service covering a vast region stretching from the West coast of the Americas to Asia, Oceania and across the Pacific.

EUTELSAT 172B, which is the fastest satellite to reach geostationary orbit using electric propulsion (in only four months) is optimised for in-flight connectivity across the Pacific and offers 11 spotbeams.

Panasonic is the major client of the High Throughput Service (HTS) payload.

EUTELSAT 172B also offers C-band capacity as well as flexible Ku-band capacity spread across five interconnecting Widebeam service areas. Ku-band can be used for maritime, video, enterprise, cellular backhaul and government services, or as an overlay to deliver live television to passengers in flight.

Rodolphe Belmer, Eutelsat CEO, said: “As EUTELSAT 172B begins commercial activity that will stretch into the 2030s, this is a key moment to thank the men and women at Eutelsat and our colleagues at Airbus for collaborating passionately on a programme that sets a new industry standard. In addition to taking our 172° East location to a new level of performance for clients in the Asia-Pacific, EUTELSAT 172B further validates the value of electric propulsion for high-capacity satellites that are core to providing cost-competitive services in the telecoms marketplace.”