[Satellite TODAY 01-15-10] The International Organization of Space Communications (Intersputnik) signed a long-term contract to lease 16 transponders from Eutelsat, Intersputnik announced Jan. 15.
Intersputnik use broadcast capacity from Eutelsat W7 for the entire in-orbit life of the satellite, progressively joining the four transponders already leased by Intersputnik on Eutelsat’s W4 satellite. Eutelsat is co-located with W4 at 36 degrees East.
    Intersputnik will deploy the new capacity to support digital TV expansion in Russia and provide new resources for the Gazprom Media Group to boost the range of channels offered in its NTV Plus and Tricolor platforms. The transponders also aim to enable new satellite broadband access offers to be provided to homes beyond range of terrestrial broadband networks.
    “We are planning to further develop our fruitful cooperation with Eutelsat in the interest of the multi-million Russian TV-audience,” Vadim Belov, Intersputnik’s director general, said in a statement.