Thales, a French multinational company active in the aerospace, defence, transportation and security markets, has announced that its joint venture with Leonardo the Thales Alenia Space (Thales 67%, Leonardo 33%), a Franco-Italian aerospace manufacturer, will provide the SpaceGate ground connectivity solution to EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS satellite in order to support the delivery of high-speed broadband as well as connectivity services across Europe.
Thales Alenia Space already developed for Eutelsat the digital EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS satellite based on the full electric Spacebus NEO platform and expected to be launched September 6th, 2022.
The SpaceGate satellite access network solution, designed for High Throughput and Very High Throughput satellites, will provide a wideband connectivity with the best spectral efficiency, significantly increasing the EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS ground segment performances.
It is composed of baseband equipment to be deployed in the Eutelsat ground stations as well as terminals, allowing internet connectivity over fiber-less areas thanks to the satellite.
The SpaceGate’s flexible and modular solution has been developed with the support of French and European Space Agency’s CNES and ESA research & development programs, Cyber secured by Thales design, SpaceGate is also adapted to Software Defined Satellites
Eutelsat KONNECT VHTS will provide high-speed Internet access everywhere in Europe, especially in isolated regions with poor coverage, delivering service on a par with fiber-optic networks in terms of performance and cost. With instantaneous throughput of 500 Gbps across Europe, EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS will make a significant contribution to bridging the digital divide. It will embark the most powerful on-board digital processor ever put in orbit, offering capacity allocation flexibility, optimal spectrum use, and progressive ground network deployment.
Marc Henri Serre, EVP Telecommunications at Thales Alenia Space
Bridging the Digital Divide is a priority for the growth in France and in Europe, we are proud to contribute to this important target by offering a French/European network access solution which is also matching the sovereignty and connectivity key stakes. We are also very enthusiast to reinforce our collaboration with Eutelsat and by implementing together new innovative challenges.
Pascal Homsy, CTO of Eutelsat
We’re delighted to be teaming up with one of our long-standing industry partners, Thales Alenia Space, on this new line of ground segment products for our EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS satellite. This partnership is yet another proof of our ongoing commitment to digital inclusion, and will bolster our service offering provided by this satellite, which spearheads our strategy of shifting to telecom connectivity.
