SES adds 15 FTA channels for Benin
March 14, 2019
By Chris Forrester
Satellite operator SES is now beaming 15 new Free To Air channels into the West African state of Benin.
SES has assigned an agreement with the country’s government to supply the services, which means that a number of HD channels will be broadcast over Benin, making it the first HD channels to be available over DTT service across Africa.
SES says that this marks an important step forward in the digital switchover for Benin, which intends to switch off analogue service in 2020.
To meet the high service availability and nationwide coverage requested by Benin, SES will be utilising powerful spot-beam capacity on SES-14. This satellite with a high throughput payload will deliver video feeds to the DTT infrastructure across Benin, with the DTH service filling in any gaps of DTT coverage. SES-14 was launched in January 2018 and is located at 47.5 degrees West.
“SES has delivered a creative solution to us to ensure the introduction of digital television with HD channels. This is an important milestone as we move toward our deadline for the analogue switch-off,” said Darius Quenum, Chairman of the DTT Steering Committee at the Presidency of the Republic of Benin. “We are very pleased to be working with SES, which has both the technical capabilities and required experience to support our ambitious plans to set new standards for broadcasting.”