January 28, 2016 – Satellite services provider, Intelsat, has announced that Intelsat 29e, the first of the Intelsat EpicNG high-throughput satellites, was launched successfully from French Guiana aboard an Ariane 5 vehicle on January 27, and that signal acquisition has been confirmed.
Manufactured by Boeing and claimed to be equipped with the most advanced digital payload on a commercial spacecraft, Intelsat 29e will bring high-throughput capacity in both C- and Ku-band to North and Latin America and the North Atlantic region. Intelsat 29e will be placed into service at 310° East, where it replaces Intelsat 1R.
Intelsat 29e is the first satellite of Intelsat’s all digital EpicNG satellite platform, which combines wide beams and spot beams with frequency reuse technology and an advanced digital payload. The digital payload will enable customers to seamlessly access and shift capacity to match their usage needs in a particular region or timeframe. According to Intelsat, the satellite is optimized to provide connectivity for applications including the Internet of Things, enterprise, wireless infrastructure, aeronautical and maritime mobility, and government, which the company expects will provide a combined US$3 billion incremental opportunity by the year 2020.
