The Atlantic Bird 2 satellite during final processing at the launch site. Photo: Arianespace TV

Eutelsat has announced that its new satellite, Atlantic Bird 2, was brought into full commercial service on October 19.

Launched on September 25 and located at 8 degrees West, the new satellite is significantly reinforcing Eutelsat capacity for satellite newsgathering, TV broadcasting and secure corporate networks in the strategic regions experiencing high growth of traffic demand: North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia as far as the Urals, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Eutelsat's "Atlantic Gate" neighbourhood will be further strengthened by the launch of a sister satellite - Atlantic Bird 1 - in the first quarter of 2002 located at 12.5 degrees West that will provide comparable reach.

Eutelsat S.A. is one of the world's leading providers of satellite communications solutions for business and private needs. The company provides television and radio broadcasting, Internet access and multimedia entertainment, IP business solutions, corporate network solutions and professional communications applications in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South-West Asia and North and South America. From its HOT BIRD and other orbital positions Eutelsat broadcasts 960 TV channels and 600 radio channels to 85 million satellite and cable homes. Eutelsat operates a system of 18 satellites, uses capacity on three additional satellites and has a total of six satellites in construction. Company turnover for 2000 was ¤686 million. Headquartered in Paris; Eutelsat's workforce comprises 370 people from 23 countries.