Eutelsat’s KA-SAT satellite
Photo: Astrium

[Via Satellite 09-20-13] Astrium has signed a contract with France Télévisions, a French broadcasting group, for its Ka-News service. The new Ka-News service, which uses Eutelsat‘s KA-SAT satellite, will enable France Télévisions teams to transmit high-speed data and broadcast live HD via Ka-band terminals with automatic deployment antennas, even in the most remote locations, without having to worry about the technical aspects of the connection.

The Ka-News service, developed in-house by Astrium Services, modernizes journalists’ user experience. Much more compact than traditional antennas (only 77 cm in diameter compared to 1.5 m on average), the Drive Away antenna chosen by France Télévisions is a 360-degrees self-pointing motorized antenna, ready for use in just a few minutes. The antenna enables journalists to connect extremely quickly – saving the time it would normally take for a satellite operator to prepare for operation.