The Thor III satellite, operated by Norway’s Telenor Satellite Broadcasting (TSBc), has now moved from 1W to 4W, allowing it to expand services in the Middle East.
The shift follows the completion and transfer of traffic from Thor III to Thor 6, which…
The Thor III satellite, operated by Norway’s Telenor Satellite Broadcasting (TSBc), has now moved from 1W to 4W, allowing it to expand services in the Middle East.
The shift follows the completion and transfer of traffic from Thor III to Thor 6, which was launched last autumn, giving the operator spare capacity. It is also advantageous since the company’s rights to BSS frequencies at 4W would have lapsed had they not been used by December 2012.
A spokesperson for the company said commercial transmissions would begin as soon as possible from 4W, thus enabling TSBc to get another six to ten years’ use out of Thor III. The 4W position is also used by Amos.
TSBc CEO Cato Halsaa was cited saying in February that due to strong demand for capacity at 1W, the company was hoping to launch a new satellite, Thor 7, by 2013.
He added that the company was considering adding Ka band capacity to the new satellite, as a means to boosting its current wholesale data communications offering. Although TSBc’s core activity is DTH, it is also strong on VSAT and broadband services. Migrating data communications to the Ka-band would allow the company to broadcast more television from 1W.
On the topic of financing, Halsaa suggested that partnering with a rival satellite operator could be a possibility.