Brazil awards four satellite slots
September 2, 2011
By Chris Forrester
SES, Eutelsat and Intelsat have been beaten in a bidding process organised by Brazil’s National Telecoms Agency for three satellite orbital slots that serve the region. The bids were won by Hughes Communications (owned by EchoStar) and StarOne, a satellite operator controlled by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim. The bids earned $159 million for Brazil.
Hughes/EchoStar bid $91 million for the frequencies at 45 degrees West and $22 million for 68.5 degrees West. Two other slots (70 degrees West and 84 degrees West) went to Embratel’s StarOne, which paid $23 million for each position.
Brazil said it expects the winning bidders to have new satellites in place within about three years in order to serve the nation’s growing demand for HDTV and 3D television services and the football World Cup scheduled for 2014 in Brazil.