Turksat and Eutelsat to strengthen satellite services for Turkey

ANKARA, TURKEY: Türksat, the Turkish satellite operator, and Eutelsat Communications, one of the world's leading satellite operators, have announced an agreement whereby Eutelsat will redeploy its EUTELSAT 33A satellite in May 2014 from 33° East to 31°East, where it will be operated by Türksat under its satellite network filings.

Eutelsat will continue to provide services at 33° East using the EUTELSAT 33B satellite which was redeployed to this position last month.

Türksat currently operates two satellites at the 42° East orbital location and will launch Turksat 4A in Q1-2014 to 42° East and Türksat 4B in Q2-2014 to 50° East.

Following the signature between both companies, signed in Paris at Eutelsat's headquarters, Eutelsat chairman and CEO, Michel de Rosen, said: "We are delighted to take our relationship with Turksat to a higher level with this new arrangement at 31° East. We share a common objective to leverage our strengths and experience for the benefit of our customers and to deliver satellite resources and service solutions that support the expansion of a vibrant digital economy for Turkey."

Ozkan Dalbay, Türksat CEO, said: "Turksat collaborates with Eutelsat on satellite broadband services for Turkey so that users anywhere can benefit from a quality Internet experience. Today's agreement, signed in a spirit of collaboration, is a significant marker that further strengthens the ties between Turksat and Eutelsat."