THOR 7 gets the go ahead

Over the years, Telenor Satellite Broadcasting (TSBc) has expanded its position beyond the Nordic region, establishing a leading broadcasting platform in Central and Eastern Europe and creating a strong data communications business, delivering satellite communication services to land-based and maritime customers throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

“There is strong demand in our target markets and we need more capacity to provide a longer term growth path for our customers,” said Cato Halsaa, Vice President and CEO of Telenor Satellite Broadcasting AS. “The approval of a new satellite has been my number one goal over the past 12 months and I am delighted that Telenor ASA has supported this substantial investment, which represents a strong, stable growth path for TSBc.”

Moving on up

Following the approval given late last year, TSBc’s space team have been working hard to complete the satellite design and begin the selection process to select the manufacturer best able to meet our needs.

“At this stage we are expecting bids from several potential manufacturers and will make our final decision before the summer,” said Hege Lunde, TSBc’s THOR 7 Project Manager. “It’s incredibly exciting as our new satellite will include both Ku and Ka band payloads – it will be used to distribute broadcast services in Central and Eastern Europe as well as allowing us to extend our coverage for delivering data communications services in areas including the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean.”

An established position

Since 1997, when its first satellite, Thor II was successfully launched, Telenor Satellite Broadcasting has delivered quality satellite communications for both broadcast and data services One degree west has developed into a hotspot orbital location, serving nearly 17 million cable and satellite households throughout Europe. The new satellite will provide much needed growth capacity for TV services, specifically in Central and Eastern Europe, where HDTV is fast becoming accepted and 3DTV will play a key role in the future.

Communications anytime and anywhere has encouraged the need for satellite requirements at sea to match the reliability of terrestrial access on land. For this reason, TSBc has seen requirements within the maritime industry change and has been challenged to find innovative ways to provide capacity that is cost efficient and delivers seamless communications at sea. The new Ka band payload will be designed specifically for maritime use and will increase TSBc’s strong position throughout Europe.

Telenor’s new satellite will join the THOR satellite fleet at 1 degree west, which includes THOR 5 and THOR 6. The contract award for the satellite manufacturer is expected to be awarded in the May/June 2011 and the satellite launcher will be selected shortly after that.