SES Restores Capacity from AMC-9 Satellite

SES has been able to draw on its global satellite fleet of over 50 geostationary satellites to rapidly restore customers capacity following a significant anomaly affecting the AMC-9 satellite on Saturday 17 June 2017.

SES immediately engaged with customers and was able to quickly offer a restoration capacity plan to transfer services to alternative satellites and minimise disruption. By late evening on Sunday 18 June 2017, the majority of the traffic had already been restored.

With the benefit of its global satellite network, SES was able to adjust its fleet deployment plan and offer solutions to affected customers with the use of existing assets. SES is currently taking steps to relocate additional assets to 83 degrees West, to support customers’ requirements.

SES continues to work with the manufacturer to identify the root cause of the anomaly, as well as any possible options to recover the spacecraft. Thanks to the restoration plan, the potential impact on SES’s full year 2017 group revenue is expected to be lower than EUR 20 million, which includes the potential reduction in available fleet transponders for future commercialisation. The one-off impairment charge is expected to be EUR 38 million.

“SES wishes to thank all of its affected customers for their understanding and cooperation. In addition, SES wishes to thank the FCC for its support over the weekend, by providing the necessary approvals to help put in effect the needed solutions” said Martin Halliwell, SES Chief Technology Officer. “Beyond AMC-9 status, SES continues to work towards a long term plan of capacity replacement.”

“The AMC-9 restoration strategy demonstrates one of the many benefits of working with a satellite operator with a large global fleet,” said Anand Chari, Gogo Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. “All networks, satellite and terrestrial, can occasionally suffer such rare mishaps. SES’s ability to recover so quickly and effectively is a compelling testament to the size and flexibility of its fleet, the professionalism of its people, and the operational processes in place to ensure the resiliency needed to keep businesses, such as Gogo, running seamlessly.”