Hughes Selected by Eutelsat to Power New EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS 

Sept. 7, 2021

 Hughes Network Systems, LLC  announced that Eutelsat Communications selected the Hughes JUPITER™ System Series 3 to enable services on the new EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS. Currently under construction and expected to launch in 2022, KONNECT VHTS will provide fixed broadband and mobility connectivity across Europe. Under the agreement, Hughes will design, manufacture and deliver JUPITER System gateways, end-user terminals and a network management system that support the EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS payload and enable powerful digital reconfiguration with narrow frequency granularity for extensive flexibility. 

"EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS contains the most powerful on-board digital processor ever put into orbit, necessitating a ground system of equal caliber to make the best use of its capacity," said Pascal Homsy, chief technology officer of Eutelsat. "The JUPITER System is the natural choice for EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS, as it is proven to support multi-service networks with flexibility, reliability and efficiency."

"We are proud that Eutelsat, a leading provider of multi-service satellite solutions, has selected Hughes, once again, to power its next-generation satellite," said Ramesh Ramaswamy, executive vice president and general manager, International division at Hughes. "The de facto standard in the industry, the JUPITER System connects the new possible – enabling partners like Eutelsat to utilize capacity efficiently to meet the growing demand for fixed and mobile broadband services."

Series 3 is the latest iteration of the JUPITER System, designed to support the industry's most advanced satellites, such as EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS, that feature flexible payloads, sophisticated channelizers and Q- and V-band feeder beams. With a centralized network architecture utilizing powerful and highly virtualized data centers, high-density gateways and artificial intelligence, the system automatically manages weather and network traffic impacts to optimize the network and deliver fast speeds to end users. Utilizing a virtual pool of modem and IP processing resources, the system supports dynamic reconfiguration of gateways and data centers to meet demand, almost instantly. Advanced software defined networking (SDN) technologies immediately synchronize the dynamic reconfiguration of gateway connections.

This latest agreement follows the successful completion by Hughes of the ground system for the EUTELSAT KONNECT satellite, which entered service in November of 2020 and utilizes JUPITER System gateways and user terminals to enable high speed satellite broadband.