Advanced Television

SES to invest €2.3bn in new satellites

July 28, 2014

By Chris Forrester

Satellite operator SES of Luxembourg is to invest around €2.3 billion in new satellites, including the building of SES-12 announced on July 25th. The investment rate will be at about a rate of €450 million per year ($612 million). The plan calls for five more satellites to be started, additional to four already under construction.

SES is making a deliberate focus on Latin American orbital positions and recently won rights to two new orbital slots serving Brazil. CEO Karim Michel Sabbagh told analysts that he expected SES to take part in a new auction carried out by the Mexican government for orbital slots. SES already has 11 satellites operating from 10 orbital positions serving Latin American markets.

Sabbagh explained that SES’s latest satellite order, SES-12, was a High Throughput satellite and be positioned at 95 degrees East and would have a variety of missions, with 70 Ku-band spot beams and 11 Ka-band beams.

Categories: Articles, Broadcast, Business, DTH/Satellite