Advanced Television

Eutelsat: Other nations could switch C-band to 5G

September 11, 2018

By Chris Forrester

Eutelsat, while a minor player in the USA’s probable switch of some satellite C-band capacity to 5G usage, nevertheless used a US financial roadshow to say it is possible that other nations would follow the FCC’s footsteps and adopt a similar approach to help boost local 5G adoption.

A report, timed to coincide with the opening of the Paris ‘World Satellite Business Week’, from investment bank Exane/BNPP and authored by analyst Sami Kassab, to highlight that Eutelsat expects its Video division to return – at long last – to slight growth next year “driven by favourable pricing trends and capacity usage, especially in Emerging Markets”. Kassab says that Eutelsat’s transition to HD is seen as accelerating. “Capex efficiency gains on the replacement of Video satellites at 5West, 7East and more importantly at Hotbird should help enhance the cash generation and return profile of these key video neighbourhoods,” adds the bank.

“Management remained confident that top-line growth would accelerate in FY21 as it implements its consumer broadband strategy in Europe and Africa. Now that the required satellites have been procured, the company is focussing on putting in place the right distribution network,” says the bank.

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