Astra to offer Ka-band broadband for 28E in 2012

Astra will launch Ka-band high speed satellite broadband when its new satellite fleet arrives at 28E next year.
Astra 2E, 2F and 2G are scheduled to launch to 28E between 2012 and 2014, replacing the current 2A, 2B and 2D satellites. As well as replacing the satellites which carry Sky and Freesat, the new satellites will have Ka-band transponders for high speed two-way broadband.
This will allow the Astra2Connect service to offer speeds of 10Mbit/s or more, compared to the current top speed of 6Mbit/s.
Ferdinand Kayser, chief commercial officer at SES, said: ‘We are very proud that ASTRA2Connect has become the largest satellite broadband network in Europe helping to bridge the digital gap in many rural regions.

‘More than 80,000 end users and a strong network of distribution partners including Deutsche Telekom and Nordnet of France Telecom demonstrate our success.
‘I am convinced that our decision to invest into additional capacity and support higher broadband speeds will strengthen our offer and help us to further grow our customer base.’
Astra2Connect is currently supplied across Europe via Astra 3 at 23.5E, and Astra’s latest terminals are Ka-band ready.
However, dishes will need to be re-aligned to 28E for most of Europe (which uses 19.2E and 13E for TV) or fitted with a twin-output Ku/Ka-band LNB for the UK or Ireland. The refresh of Astra’s decade-old fleet at 28E will begin with the launch of Astra 1N later this year, which will take up a temporary role before moving permanently to 19.2E. The new Astra satellites are configured to serve rapidly-growing markets for satellite TV and broadband in Africa, as well as Astra’s traditional customers in Europe.