Arianespace’s VA228 Ariane 5 mission carrying the Intelsat 29e satellite. Photo: Arianespace

[Via Satellite 01-28-2016] Intelsat 29e, the first of Intelsat’s EpicNG High Throughput Satellite (HTS) series, launched Jan. 27 from French Guiana aboard an Ariane 5 vehicle. With C- and Ku-band coverage over the Americas and North Atlantic region, the satellite will be placed into service at 310 degrees east, where it replaces Intelsat 1R.

The Boeing-built Intelsat 29e combines wide beams and spot beams with frequency reuse technology and an advanced digital payload. The payload can digitally redirect a satellite beam to areas of greater demand, and brings improved security as well.

Intelsat EpicNG is optimized to provide satellite connectivity for applications including the Internet of Things (IoT), enterprise, wireless infrastructure, aeronautical and maritime mobility, and government. The HTS platform is backwards compatible and fully interoperable with Intelsat’s existing satellite fleet and terrestrial infrastructure. The platform’s open architecture allows customers to have control over service offerings and hardware selection, providing differentiation of service offerings.

Intelsat has customers for Intelsat 29e, including Harris CapRock, Panasonic, EMC, Axesat and leading national telecom operators in Latin America. The second EpicNG satellite, Intelsat 33e, is slated to launch in the third quarter of 2016, also aboard an Arianespace launcher. The next satellite in the series will serve Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.