The UK's only listed satellite operator, Avanti, has confirmed the launch date for its second Ka-band satellite.
The satellite is set to significantly increase the company's international coverage with almost three times the bandwidth capacity of its predecessor.
HYLAS 2, says Avanti, will launch on 2 August, from an Ariane 5 launch vehicle in French Guiana. The satellite will be operational from the end of August.
According to the satellite operator, the new satellite will provide high-speed data capacity to a range of telecommunications, enterprise and government customers in what it terms the “fast growing markets” of SA, Eastern Africa (Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe), the Middle East and the Caucasus (the geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia). Eighty percent of Avanti's fleet capacity will address emerging markets.
Mike Fiddes, Avanti sales director for Africa and the Middle East, says the two regions are the fastest growing markets for Internet subscribers, with 10-year growth rates forecast to be in excess of 2 000%.
Avanti says the launch of HYLAS 2 represents a “major step forward” in its plans to compete in the Ka spectrum. “The second launch uses the latest Ka-band technology to deliver high-speed, low-cost, two-way data communications.
“Deploying 24 fixed beams and one steerable beam, HYLAS 2 gives customers the flexibility to address current and future markets across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.”
HYLAS 2 uses two solar arrays that produce the power needed to relay vast amounts of data daily. The panels rotate to face the sun as the satellite orbits synchronously with the earth. On the ground, stations in the UK, Germany and Cyprus provide the backbone for connecting Avanti's satellites to ground-based satellite communications worldwide.
Launched in November 2010, Avanti's first Ka-band satellite, HYLAS 1, is expected to generate £50 million in revenue when it reaches capacity in 2014. Earlier this year, ITWeb reported that the HYLAS 3, which is expected to go into orbit in 2015, would cost the company £75 million.
While some analysts are sceptical as to how much demand the satellite offering would see in light of it being more expensive and slower than fixed-line broadband, Avanti says it expects to fill capacity on HYLAS 2 within four years. This is a year less than originally predicted.
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