Eutelsat's NewsSpotter Service via the KASAT Satellite Puts a new Face on Newsgathering in Europe

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Mar 21, 2012, 07:13 ET

PARIS, March 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) today officially launched its innovative newsgathering service called 'NewsSpotter'. The service expands the range of professional services provided through Eutelsat's high-performance KA-SAT satellite and is provided by its Skylogic affiliate. Using a new generation of lightweight equipment, NewsSpotter broadens opportunities for newsgathering by offering broadcasters and service providers the ability to transmit High Definition and/or Standard Definition live video from the field in a fast and highly cost efficient manner. The service is also ideal for fast transmission of film rushes and proxy file transfer from the field.

Compact enough to be carried in a back-pack for Fly-Away use and small enough to be fitted onto a small car for rooftop mounting, NewsSpotter can instantly connect mobile news crews to studios for transmission of live recordings, images and data. Providing native IP connectivity, NewsSpotter is perfectly integrated for the workflows of modern newsgathering operations and is available across KA-SAT's footprint that covers Europe, North Africa and large parts of the Middle East.

Offering a fast link from scene to screen, the NewsSpotter satellite dish and terminal can be set up in two minutes, including deployment, auto pointing, and connection. Bandwidth can be reserved online by news crews, using a self-booking application or pre-booked for planned use and guaranteed reservations. Users simply log-on to the Skylogic OSS portal, enter their user terminal number, location, time slots and bit rate required on return and forward links.

NewsSpotter uses professional-grade KA-SAT terminals for video contribution from crews in the field to a broadcaster's master control room. Using standard IP routing, the service is capable of transmitting at speeds of up to 20Mbps via KA-SAT and its dedicated ground network fibre infrastructure.

NewsSpotter user terminals have been developed by multiple manufacturers in three versions: Fly-Away, Vehicular Compact and Vehicular Rugged. Flyaway terminals require manual pointing and come in the form of backpack or flight case configuration, weighing in the range of 5 to 10 kg, with dish sizes in the range of 60 to 75cm. The Vehicle Compact terminal has motorised and autopoint capability and is available with dish sizes from 75 to 90cm. Rugged Vehicle mounted terminals are available with dish sizes from 75 to 120 cm.

Cristiano Benzi, Director of Pre-Sales and Customer Care at Eutelsat, said: "Satellites are an unbeatable platform for covering breaking news and transmitting live sports and cultural events back to studios. NewsSpotter complements these daily operations with a fast, light andcost-effective service for broadcasters and news crews. Broadcasters that set the highest standards of quality, including the BBC, RTL, Rai and Sky,have already tested the system and performed live transmissions in Europe,illustrating NewsSpotter'simmediate interest to the news industry."

NewsSpotter is delivered by Eutelsat's KA-SAT High Throughput Satellite, which entered commercial service in May 2011. With its total capacity of more than 70 Gbps, KA-SAT ushers in a new era of competitively-priced, satellite-delivered services for broadcasters, businesses and consumers. The satellite forms the cornerstone of a new satellite infrastructure, which includes eight main satellite gateways across Europe connected to the Internet by a fibre backbone ring.

About Eutelsat Communications

Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234) is the holding company of Eutelsat S.A.. With capacity commercialised on 28 satellites that provide coverage over the entire European continent, as well as the Middle East, Africa, India and significant parts of Asia and the Americas, Eutelsat is one of the world's three leading satellite operators in terms of revenues. As of 31 December 2011, Eutelsat's satellites were broadcasting more than 4,150 television channels. More than 1,100 channels are broadcast via its HOT BIRD video neighbourhood at 13 degrees East alone which serves over 120 million cable and satellite homes in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The Group's satellites also serve a wide range of fixed and mobile telecommunications services, TV contribution markets, corporate networks, and broadband markets for Internet Service Providers and for transport, maritime and in-flight markets. Eutelsat's broadband subsidiary, Skylogic, markets and operates access to high speed internet services through teleports in France and Italy that serve enterprises, local communities, government agencies and aid organisations in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. Headquartered in Paris, Eutelsat and its subsidiaries employ just over 700 commercial, technical and operational professionals from 30 countries.