Unfazed by Customer Lawsuit, Eutelsat Prepares for Busy Launch Year

摘要

Satellite fleet operator Eutelsat on Jan. 9 said a billion-dollar lawsuit filed by a customer in Brazil is without foundation and not expected to trouble the company's business. Eutelsat also addressed what it acknowledged were crowded schedules of launch service providers in 2015, a year in which Eutelsat plans to launch a record five satellites, including two with SpaceX of the United States and two aboard Russia's Proton. Addressing a press briefing at the company's headquarters here, Eutelsat Chief Executive Michel de Rosen said the lawsuit filed in a Rio de Janeiro court in December by Via Sat Brasil - no relation to ViaSat Inc. of the United States-followed a contract breach by Via Sat that led to the contract's cancellation. Via Sat in May contracted with Eutelsat to use the entire Ka-band high-throughput payload of the Eutelsat 3B satellite for nationwide broadband coverage through five steerable spot beams. The five-year contract raised eyebrows at the time because Via Sat was a little-known entity that was established only in 2011. De Rosen said the Via Sat contract was in fact a contract with a consortium regrouped under the Via Sat name.