Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia are set to get increased satellite coverage as satellite services provider Spacecom prepares for the launch of a new satellite and plans for another satellite get under way.

The AMOS-6 satellite was currently being manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries, which would prepare for launch by the third quarter of 2015 and provide ground control operations for the unit in a $195-million deal signed in 2012.

Over its 16-year life, the AMOS-6 would provide steerable Ku-band with pan-European and Middle East coverage and a Ka-band beam for broadband services with coverage in Africa and Europe, said Spacecom senior VP of sales for Africa, Asia and marketing Eyal Copitt.

AMOS-6, built on the modular Amos4000 platform, would feature an electric propulsion subsystem, weigh 5.4 t at launch and have a 10 KW electric power subsystem.

The satellite would replace AMOS-2, which was scheduled to end its service in 2016, and boasted the size of AMOS-2 and AMOS-3 combined.

Meanwhile, the AMOS-7 satellite, which would target coverage for Africa and Asia, was currently in the planning stages, with no date set for the manufacture and launch as yet.

AMOS-8, which had not yet been officially conceptualised, would likely target South America, as Spacecom planned its first entry into the region over the next few years, Copitt told Engineering News Online.

In 2011, the company launched AMOS-5 to deliver high-power C-band and Ku-band capacity to the entire African continent as the group expanded coverage to the promising market.

As more undersea submarine cables reached Africa’s coastline, there was an increasing need to bring capacity inland and satellite, as opposed to fibre, was emerging as the solution, Copitt said.

Further, with Africa’s digital migration ambitions, AMOS-5 was positioned to provide “powerful” C-band and Ku-band beams supplying broadcast and data services to the continent.

The satellite, which started commercial operations in January 2012 and was a prime carrier of African satellite communications traffic, provided digital terrestrial transmission distribution and direct-to-home signal services for two East Africa-based operators as digital migration continued in the region.

Europe-based communications solutions provider Signalhorn had also inked a deal with Spacecom to use Ku-band capacity on its AMOS-5 satellite, which also boasted access to Europe and the Middle East, to enable broadband connectivity to retail businesses across Southern Africa.

Further, an undisclosed Southern African Internet technology provider expanded and extended its contract for capacity on the AMOS-5 satellite. The $3.2-million deal increased the existing client's C-band standard and extended beam capacity, and significantly extended its contract period.

“Spacecom’s client will use its AMOS-5 capacity for a variety of very small aperture terminal services and broadband backbone to further service the financial and general enterprise sectors, among others, in the Southern African region. The client also holds capacity on AMOS-5's Ku-band beams,” the company noted.

OTHER TARGETS
In 2013, Spaceom launched its latest satellite, AMOS-4, with its steerable Ku-band and Ka-band beams, extending Spacecom’s footprint into Asia and Russia. The new unit also included a Ka-band beam with coverage over China.

The company also had satellite services covering Europe and the Middle East through AMOS-2, launched in 2003, and AMOS-3, which was launched in 2008 and designed to replace AMOS-1.

AMOS-1 was Spacecom’s first commercial satellite after its launch in 1996 and provided geostationary services until mid-2008.