US-based satellite broadband provider Hughes has bought capacity at a Brazilian orbital slot it gave up soon after winning it in an auction three years ago.
Its Hughes Network Systems do Brasil unit snapped up 16 of the 24 transponders that will be on…
US-based satellite broadband provider Hughes has bought capacity at a Brazilian orbital slot it gave up soon after winning it in an auction three years ago.
Its Hughes Network Systems do Brasil unit snapped up 16 of the 24 transponders that will be on the Eutelsat 65 West A bird, which is due to launch in early 2016.
French operator Eutelsat acquired rights to 65W for R$14m (US$7.9m) in 2012 when it was put up for sale again, after Hughes relinquished the slot in favour of another position it won in Brazil’s original July 2011 auction.
Hughes had offered R$35.2m (US$19.8m) for 65W, but instead chose to stick with a R$145.2m (US$81.8m) bid it made for the 45W slot, which represented a premium of 3579.82% on its minimum auction price. Domestic satellite operator Star One paid R$37m (US$20.8m) for each of the other two positions in the auction: 84W and 70W.
Hughes has yet to reveal plans for 45W, and so Eutelsat 65 West A will be a springboard for providing services in a market generally unserved or underserved by terrestrial networks.
Eutelsat 65 West A is being built by Space Systems Loral. The transponders Hughes has bought in the 15-year deal represent its entire Ka-band capacity that covers the Brazilian market. The companies also plan to use Hughes’ high-throughput Jupiter technology on the ground to provide more than 24 Gbps of service.
Michel de Rosen, Eutelsat’s chairman and CEO, said, “The high throughput capacity over Brazil provided by this satellite will be a powerful contributor to the country’s ongoing transformation into an information society and vindicates our strategy to bring satellite infrastructure to clearly identified markets where it has a long-term role to play in the broadband mix”
Hughes is owned by US satellite operator EchoStar, which has been planning to use the 45W spot to break into the fast-growing Brazilian market. As well as being underserved by fixed infrastructure, demand for capacity is expected to surge as the country hosts the football World Cup later this year and the Olympic Games in 2016.
EchoStar had held talks with a number of potential local partners but announced late last year that negotiations with telco GVT about forming a pay-TV joint venture had been called off, with the latter deciding to go it alone.
Meanwhile, Brazilian telecoms regulator Anatel has kicked off an auction of four more orbital slots, with minimum bids of R$12.22m (US$5.3m) due by 29 April.
As well as previous orbital winners, the auction will likely attract SES, Intelsat and Hispasat, which reportedly bid in the country’s previous auction.
