SES-Americom Inc. has expanded the footprint of its satellite TV service with the recent launch of a new bird, and today announced PBS, which provides 356 public television stations, as its anchor tenant.
The satellite provides coverage of North America, including all 50 states, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America. It provides broadcast television and mobile broadband services. The satellite is fitted with 24 Ku-band transponders, each with 36 MHz of bandwidth and a life of 15 years.
SES, which operates a fleet of satellites, is best known in telco circles for its IP-Prime offering, which is a managed, turnkey, IPTV package designed to substantially lower the cost of entry, while speeding time to market, of telco TV services. It uses a share rather than buy headend approach.
The operator provides as few or as many of the many pieces in the extended IPTV ecosystem, including programming in HD, to interested telcos, primarily tier 2 and 3 operators as well as rural operators, many seeking to enter the TV business.
In addition to supporting PBS and other top broadcasters, SES claims the spacecraft is enabling the delivery of mobile broadband services, including distribution to the oil and gas industry, the U.S. government, as well as maritime broadband users across the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.
