Mobile
Eutelsat Ka-Sat’s 'uncertain prospects'
Chris Forrester ©RapidTVNews | 10-03-2010
Eutelsat has had a wonderful couple of trading years, and there’s no sign of sales letting up, but one investment banking analyst suggests there’s limited room for further share price outperformance.
Matthias DeWit, senior analyst at Petercam Telecom, praises Eutelsat’s progress to date, and in particular Eutelsat’s robust guidance over the next 3 year period.
However, there’s also caution in his message as regards the upcoming launch of Eutelsat’s all Ka-Band satellite, Ka-Sat. “We deem Ka-Sat’s prospects as more uncertain. Ka-Sat is a dedicated consumer broadband satellite project which will require significant capex and opex outlays in the years ahead. The uncertainty in our view primarily resides in the unproven EU end-demand for consumer satellite broadband and limited attractive alternative uses.”
Ka-Sat is due for launch later this year (currently Q3). The satellite is an impressive beast with more than 80 spot beams designed to maximise frequency re-use across greater Europe. Ka-Sat will operate from Eutelsat’s extremely popular ‘Hot Bird’ spot at 13 degrees East position. The theory is straightforward, and sees Eutelsat targeting its huge neighbourhood of viewers who also want to tap into satellite-delivered two-way broadband. Broadband-by-satellite specialists ViaSat, and Eutelsat, are co-operating on the project.
Petercam says there are “limited alternative uses” for Ka-Sat, which might not necessarily be true. Eutelsat still says (on its website): “The satellite will form the cornerstone of a major new satellite infrastructure programme that will significantly expand capacity for consumer broadband services across Europe and the Mediterranean Basin, while providing new opportunities for local and regional television markets.”
In other words Eutelsat is still supporting the prospect of local-into-local television, using Ka-band spot beams, as a means of soaking up capacity.
© Rapid TV News 2010
