[SatNews] Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I) and Azercosmos OJSCo., the national satellite operator of Azerbaijan, today announced that the two companies have signed a strategic agreement at the 45 degrees East orbital position. The two companies will closely collaborate on the design of the Azerspace-2/Intelsat 38 satellite and leverage their respective strengths and capabilities during the manufacturing and operational phases of development. Azerspace-2/Intelsat 38 is scheduled to be launched in 2017.

“With our second telecommunications satellite, we will be in a stronger position to meet the increasing demand for broadband and media applications. Our partnership with Intelsat will further strengthen both of our positions in the region and provide the necessary capacity to efficiently expand our services geographically.”

Azerscosmos engineers visiting Orbital Sciences during the construction of the company’s last joint-satellite, Azerspace 1/Africasat 1a, collaboratively built with Measat. Photo: Azercosmos

The new satellite will provide continuity of service for the Intelsat 12 satellite currently stationed at 45 degrees East, an orbital location which hosts Direct-to-Home (DTH) platforms and provides connectivity for corporate network services in Africa. The new Intelsat 38 satellite will also provide services across Central and Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa.

For Azercosmos, the new satellite offers enhanced capacity, coverage and service offerings to support the growing demands in the region for DTH, government and network services currently supported by Azerspace-1.

“The demand for satellite capacity in our coverage markets, which include CIS, African and Asian countries, continues to grow and with Azerspace-2, it further underscores our commitment to deliver satellite services to the region,” stated Rashad Nabiyev, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Azercosmos. “With our second telecommunications satellite, we will be in a stronger position to meet the increasing demand for broadband and media applications. Our partnership with Intelsat will further strengthen both of our positions in the region and provide the necessary capacity to efficiently expand our services geographically.”

Stephen Spengler, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Intelsat, stated, “Our partnership with Azercosmos is a great example of the value of collaborating with other satellite operators. Our collaboration will enable us to create additional capacity by leveraging our existing assets and maximizing the value of our orbital rights. As a result, Intelsat 38 will be strongly positioned to support the growth objectives of our customers at this orbital location, including leading DTH platforms in the fast growing Central Eastern Europe and Asia Pacific regions and connectivity for corporate network services in Africa.”