Eutelsat Communications, one of the world's leading operators of commercial satellites for broadcast and telecommunications services, is set to launch its latest satellite which will provide the capacity required to accelerate the deployment of higher definition television services to the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.

The Eutelsat 8 West B satellite will be located at 7/8° West and further strengthens this position as the hotspot for television broadcasts to homes across the region stretching from Morocco to the Gulf, said the company in a statement.

“This satellite will accelerate the transition to HD services and facilitate the rapid deployment of advanced television services such as Ultra High Definition broadcasts,” said Ali Korur, CEO of Eutelsat Middle East.

"With the launch of this new satellite Eutelsat is ensuring that the bandwidth is available for broadcasters to deliver High Definition today and the immersive viewing experience of Ultra HD in the future," he noted.

“The satellite will be co-located with Nilesat at the regional hotspot at 7/8° West which means that television viewers across the region can access easily the widest choice of viewing options, using one single dish.”

Currently more than 1,000 channels are broadcast from 7/8 degrees West to 250 million viewers across the Mena region.-TradeArabia News Service