SES: Tailoring of New Capacity and Analytical Solutions for Global In-Flight Services 

September 15, 2014

SES has developed in-house air traffic analysis processes and in-orbit reconfiguration capabilities to help airlines and in-flight entertainment (IFE) service providers get the most from their satellite bandwidth during flights around the world. SES also announced that it is designing a strategic mix of High Throughput Satellite (HTS) and wide beam Ku-band technologies into its global fleet to meet the worldwide demand among airline passengers for in-flight connectivity.    

Two SES satellites are already under construction with next generation designs to serve the growing IFE, maritime and mobility markets across the Asia-Pacific region. Under construction by Boeing Satellite Systems, SES-9 features expansive mobility beams designed to provide both airliners and ships travelling through Asia, including the busy Indian Ocean Region, with high-speed broadband quality video services.

Being built by Airbus Defence and Space, SES-12 is a hybrid communications spacecraft capable of enabling IFE providers to reallocate high-powered capacity on the fly, to meet evolving airline entertainment and communications demands. 

“SES and the leading in-flight entertainment service providers are innovating new IFE solutions through collaborative partnerships that really begin when the satellite is in the early design phase. We listen to our customers and build into our hybrid satellites exactly what the airline industry needs to connect passengers everywhere, whether it calls for HTS or wide beam technology,” explained Steve Corda, vice president of business development for SES in North America. “IFE providers will be able to reconfigure their SES capacity in orbit to meet the ever-changing demands of the global airline industry.” 

SES-9 is scheduled to be lifted into orbit in 2015 by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket – the second SpaceX launch for SES. The Ku-band satellite will reside at the prime location of 108.2 degrees East. SES-12’s powerful 14 GHz HTS payload will deliver up to 24 gigabits per second of data connectivity for a diverse mix of applications, while the spacecraft’s wide beam Ku-band capacity will provide high-quality television services.

SES-12, set for launch in 2017, will be located in the coveted orbital location of 95 degrees East, with seamless coverage from Europe to the Pacific Rim, and will expand SES’s capabilities to deliver both broadband and broadcast services to airline passengers travelling domestic, transcontinental and transoceanic flights across Asia and beyond.  

“There is a proliferation of airlines across Asia, now one of the busiest air traffic regions in the world,” noted Corda. “The global SES fleet is well positioned to meet the developing and increasing demand for in-flight entertainment and communications services worldwide,” Corda explained. “Our SES-9 AND SES-12 satellites are great examples of the combination of high throughput satellite and wide beam satellite capabilities SES is bringing to the aeronautical, maritime, and global mobility markets.”