Hylas 3 will be a hosted payload satellite providing Ka-band services alongside the operator’s Hylas 1 and 2 spacecraft.

   “Avanti is well positioned to benefit from demand growth and market adoption of new satellite technology,” Avanti Chairman John Brackenbury said in a statement. “We are particularly fortunate that, following the launch of Hylas 2, more than 70 percent of our fleet capacity will be dedicated to emerging markets which are experiencing high underlying economic growth. With the launch of Hylas 3, this will increase to more than 80 percent.”

   Under the terms of Avanti’s agreement with the ESA, the company will retain ownership and operational control of the Hylas 3 hosted payload.

   Hylas 3 will have up to 4GHz of Ka-band capacity that will be configured across eight beams within a single steerable antenna. The satellite can provide coverage of an area equivalent to a region the size of Southern Africa and can be moved throughout the life of the satellite. The satellite will be positioned in one of Avanti’s orbital locations with an earth view covering Africa and the Middle East. Delivery into orbit is expected in 2015.

   Avanti said that its Hylas 2 satellite is on track for delivery in June 2012 and that the satellite is generating strong demand from emerging markets. Brackenbury added that Avanti also has received an increasing amount of orders and enquiries for Ka-band capacity from large and small customers. “

   The typical order size for Hylas 2 is far larger than on Hylas 1,” said Brackenbury. “Our confidence in the strength of demand is illustrated by our reduction in the target period in which we will sell-out the capacity on Hylas 2 from five years after service launch to four years. We maintain our expectation for full sell-out within three years for Hylas 1.”

   Avanti CEO David Williams said the operator would have made the Hylas 3 announcement in 2011, but instead chose a more patient approach in order to gain access to high-quality ECA financing.

   “We are not going to give a date regarding the Hylas-3 announcement, but it is in the very near-term,” said Williams. “The pre-sales for Hylas 3 almost gets us across the line. We could have rushed ahead and had Hylas 3 financed some time ago. We have had lots of offers for finance from investment banks for high-yield debt so we could have moved forward on it six months ago. This is a long-term business. It is more important to access low cost financing below 5 percent interest with very high-quality partnerships and to get the financing right rather than to move forward in a hurry.”