Illustration of Eutelsat W5 deployed in orbit. Photo: Eutelsat

Located over the Indian Ocean at 70.5 degrees East, Eutelsat's new W5 Ku-band satellite completes a successful family of birds that have been serving a wide range of customers since 1998. W5 is a key element in Eutelsat's strategic objective of geographic expansion on the dynamic Euro-Asian route, stretching the company's coverage to the Pacific.

Featuring 24 transponders capable of delivering a full portfolio of services that include video distribution and contribution links, occasional use video as well as Internet backbone connections, W5 provides an extremely broad fixed coverage as well as two steerable beams.

The W5 fixed widebeam will offer unparalleled Ku-band connectivity stretching from Western Europe through the Middle East and Central Asia to Southern Asia. This coverage opens up an entire new range of possibilities for deploying innovative and affordable VSAT solutions all over the region. In parallel, the satellite's steerable beams will be able to provide high-power transmissions to a choice of Asian markets, the whole of China and Mongolia, reaching also Korea and Southern Japan, as well as Southern Asia, together with northern parts of Australia - for the first time bringing the Pacific Ocean Region within reach of Eutelsat's services.

Thanks to a new bundled turnaround offer on Eutelsat's Digital Platforms, W5 will also for the first time enable seamless connectivity from Asia directly into Western Europe's vast audience, providing the possibility for Asian broadcasters to easily enter the European television marker by reaching Eutelsat's HOT BIRD 97 million cable and satellite homes in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

W5 characteristics

• Satellite manufacturer: Alcatel Space
• Platform: Spacebus 3000
• Orbital position: 70.5 degrees East
• Payload: 24 Ku-band transponders
• Dowlink frequencies: 10.95-11.70 GHz, 12.50-12.75 GHz
• Transponder bandwidth: 72 MHz
• Coverages : 1 fixed Widebeam up to 46 dBW and 2 steerable spotbeams up to 48 dBW
• Lifetime: miniumum 12 years