Avanti Communications Group, the UK's listed satellite operator, will launch its second Ka-band satellite tonight, at 10.54pm South African time.
With almost three times the bandwidth capacity of its predecessor, HYLAS 2 - launching from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana - is set to significantly increase Avanti's international coverage.
HYLAS 2, which will be operational from the end of this month, will provide high-speed data capacity to a range of telecommunications, enterprise and government customers in what Avanti terms “fast growing markets” such as SA, Eastern Africa, the Middle East and the Caucasus.
Eighty percent of the operator's fleet capacity will address emerging markets, including HYLAS 3 - to be launched in partnership with the European Space Agency in 2015 - which will provide additional capacity in the EMEA region.
HYLAS 2, deemed by the company to be a “major step forward” in its bid to compete in the Ka spectrum, deploys 24 fixed beams and one steerable beam.
According to Avanti, the satellite 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, while land stations in the UK, Germany and Cyprus run the backbone for connecting it to ground-based satellite communications across the world.
While analysts are circumspect as to how much demand there will be for the satellite offering, considering it is slower and more expensive than fixed-line broadband, Avanti says it expects to fill HYLAS 2's capacity within four years - a year short of what was originally predicted.
The launch of HYLAS 2 will be broadcast live and can be watched at http://www.arianespace.tv/ from 10.39pm tonight.
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