Arabsat-owned Hellas-sat to launch joint satellite with Inmarsat

Khalid Balkheyour

Hellas-sat, a majority owned subsidiary of Arabsat, has signed an agreement with Inmarsat to launch a joint satellite at 39° East.

The satellite, which is due to be launched in 2016 will run two missions: to replace the existing Hellas-sat 2 satellite; and to offer aviation passenger connectivity services across Europe.

Hellas-sat 2 will be replaced by a 44 Ku-band transponders payload, called Hellas-sat 3, which is designed to offer more growth capacities to its customers with footprints in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

The aviation services will be delivered on an S-band payload, named EuropaSat.

“This agreement represents the first milestone in fulfilling our commitment to our shareholders to capture additional growth opportunities, especially after the acquisition of Hellas-sat,” said Arabsat president and CEO and chairman of the board of directors at Hellas-sat, Khalid Balkheyour.

“Hellas-sat 3 also represents our commitment to Hellas-sat’s existing and loyal customers and partners in maintaining and expanding their business and continue to establish 39° East as one of the leading DTH hotspots in Europe.”

Hellas-sat CEO Christodoulos Protopapas added: “Hellas-sat will continue to develop the location 39° East to be the leading DTH hotspot in Europe. Hellas-sat 3 will cater for additional capacities and services for HD and free to air channels and will guarantee additional room for our existing customer base to grow.”