Global News

September 13, 2002
Intelsat 906 enables telephony, video and Internet solutions

UNITED STATES: Intelsat has announced the successful launch of the Intelsat 906 satellite on an Ariane 44L vehicle. The satellite is expected to be operational by early October this year.

The launch is the sixth in a nine-satellite campaign to replace and to enhance the system capacity by the end of 2003. The 906 satellite will be deployed at 64ºE and will offer capacity for telephony, corporate networks, Internet, video and hybrid space/terrestrial solutions to customers on its 72 C-band and 22 Ku-band transponders (measured in 36MHz equivalent units). The satellite will provide high power Ku-band spot beam coverage for Western Europe and part of Asia, and additional C-band capacity to customers in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.

The Intelsat 906 will replace the Intelsat 804, which currently holds the 64ºE orbital slot, but will be moved to a new location at 176ºE to support additional customer demand in the Pacific region. As an extension of this deployment, and pending regulatory approval, the 906 launch allows Intelsat to place a satellite in a new role at 85ºE to serve China, India and other parts of Asia.

The high power and coverage area of the Intelsat 906 satellite makes it ideal to support Ku-band video applications on the Indian subcontinent as well as all of Intelsat's GlobalConnexsm solutions, including Internet trunking and IPL. Intelsat's next launch, the Intelsat 907 satellite, is scheduled to take place from French Guiana, aboard an Ariane 44L launch vehicle, during the first quarter of next year.