Bridging the Digital Divide in Europe with Innovative Satellites

Imagine the following situation. You are on holidays, in France, in a rural zone. You are really happy to spend some free time in the middle of nowhere, far away for your intense daily job, disconnected from all your devices. Suddenly, you realize that you completely forgot to send an email to your customer regarding a critical matter. You take out your state-of-the-art smartphone, desperately trying to send an email and… surprise, surprise… the connection is so poor that your message is stuck in your outbox. It’s just impossible to send it.

This kind of scenario exists, not only in developing countries, but also in Europe. In some areas, it is nearly impossible to set up terrestrial telecommunications infrastructure, you just can’t have access to high-speed Internet. Nevertheless, thanks to new telecommunications satellite solutions, it will no longer be the case.

Indeed, there are still gaps in telecommunications coverage all over Europe, and reliable high-speed internet is far from universal. In our digital age, this is not just an inconvenience, it is a deal-breaker for running efficient companies and governments. If you cannot communicate effectively with your staff and clients or count on reliable access to data, you will no longer be competitive. Minutes lost to slow download speeds or service cut-offs rapidly become hours, days, and weeks when multiplied by dozens of employees. Your costs rise, your customer service declines, and your bottom line shrinks.

But help is at hand. Thales Alenia Space has ramped up High-Value technology. In 2021, Eutelsat will start operating KONNECT VHTS, Thales Alenia Space’s latest Very High Throughput Satellite (VHTS) to improve telecommunications coverage and internet speeds across Europe. Together, Thales Alenia Space and Eutelsat Communications will reach out from space to bridge the last gaps of the digital divide.

“We offer satellite operators competitive and powerful telecommunications solutions, with a large selection of broadband services, both fixed and mobile. VHTS technology, springing from the digital revolution, assures connectivity for everybody, anywhere, at any time,” said Bernard Jacqué, Head of Advanced Telecom Solutions at Thales Alenia Space.

Supporting Eutelsat’s fixed broadband and mobile business, the KONNECT VHTS satellite developed by Thales Alenia Space will have a capacity of about 500 gigabits per second, with the most powerful on-board digital processor ever put into orbit. It can allocate capacity and spectrum with maximum flexibility, allowing operators to meet their specific business needs.

In addition, KONNECT VHTS permits progressive ground network deployment, implementing resources when needed to meet and stick to the growing demand.

Jean-Loïc Galle, CEO of Thales Alenia Space, underlined that “Thales Alenia Space won the contract for KONNECT VHTS, the most powerful and competitively priced satellite in the world, thanks to the R&D support not only of the French Space Agency but also of the European Space Agency“.

Weighing over six tons, KONNECT VHTS takes advantage of Thales Alenia Space’s innovative Spacebus NEO platform. Robust, modular, and powerful, this platform is a game changer for heavy geostationary telecommunications satellites. Running on solar-generated electricity, its service module can easily handle its own electric propulsion, while supplying about 20 kilowatts to the powerful telecommunications payload. Not needing heavy and bulky liquid fuels, Spacebus NEO is also smaller and lighter than other platforms, allowing for larger payloads.

Working in conjunction with terrestrial networks, this satellite and its very powerful digital processor will support the deployment of high-speed Internet access in sparsely populated and isolated regions as well as in mobility – providing a universal solution to bridge the digital divide for everyone, everywhere.