Australian Satellite Communications boosts bandwidth requirements on EUTELSAT 172A

 

10 April 2013

 Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) today announced that Australian Satellite Communications (ASC) is increasing capacity leased on the EUTELSAT 172A satellite for Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic), the world leader in in-flight entertainment. Australian Satellite Communications has signed a multi-year lease for a 36 MHz transponder on the EUTELSAT 172A satellite to benefit from its superior performance and coverage of the South Pacific, including Australia and New Zealand.

This new expansion of bandwidth requirements builds on ASC's existing leasing agreements with Eutelsat for capacity on EUTELSAT 172A to enable Panasonic Avionics Corporation to address airline routes over Australia and New Zealand and for trans-Tasman flights, with teleporting managed from ASC's teleport in Adelaide.

Mark Borgas, General Manager of ASC commented on the new contract: "We are very pleased to scale up the service we provide to Panasonic Avionics Corporation on EUTELSAT 172A. The strong features of this satellite, combined with our Adelaide teleport facilities enable us to meet the stringent and growing requirements for sophisticated in-flight communication and entertainment."

Andrew Jordan CEO of Eutelsat Asia, said: "In-flight connectivity at 35,000 feet is changing the face of air travel. We are delighted that EUTELSAT 172A is increasingly servicing this market and meeting the high expectations of ASC and the world's first global Ku frequency high bandwidth aeronautical network operated by Panasonic Avionics Corporation."

Panasonic's Global Communications Service provides two-way broadband connectivity, supporting a wide range of passenger and crew applications including Internet access, voice, data and the ability to monitor and transmit airline operational data in real-time at speeds of up 50 Mbps to the aircraft.