Eutelsat Set to Launch New 500Gbps VHTS Broadband Satellite

European satellite operator Eutelsat, which is also the parent of UK ISP Konnect (We Konnect), has announced that their next generation Very High Throughput Satellite (VHTS) is finally on its way to Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou (French Guiana), ready to be launched via an Ariane 5 rocket on 6th September 2022.

The new platform, which has been built by Thales Alenia Space, is a more traditional satellite that will sit in a high geostationary earth orbit and cover a wide area – across the UK and Europe. The VHTS is expected to weigh 6.3 tonnes, support 230 beams over Western Europe and have a massive Ka-band (radio spectrum) capacity of 500Gbps (Gigabits per second).

Just to put this in some context. Eutelsat’s previous KONNECT satellite weighed 3.6 metric tons at launch, included a designed lifespan of 15+ years, as well as 65 spotbeams and a Ka-band capacity of 75Gbps. Suffice to say, the VHTS (Konnect VHTS) is an absolute monster by comparison and should significantly boost broadband speeds, albeit while still being hobbled by sluggish latency (server response) times.

Pascal Homsy, CTO of Eutelsat, said:

“With EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS we are bringing connectivity to a next level. Defying the odds, it is the most powerful satellite to join the Eutelsat fleet. It will deliver 230 beams over Western Europe and is equipped with a Digital Transparent Processor of 5th generation which will give a considerable advantage in terms of frequency flexibility onboard. A state-of-the-art piece of the finest technology built by our partners Thales Alenia Space that I would like to hereby acknowledge as EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS sets off for the Guiana Space Center.”

Operators of large geostationary communication satellites like this will no doubt be mindful of their need to compete with the new generation of mega constellations in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). We don’t yet know quite what kind of packages the VHTS will enable, but we strongly suspect that faster speeds (100Mbps+), “unlimited” usage allowances and prices that significantly undercut Starlink will follow.

Assuming the launch goes well in September, then it will still take quite a few months to fully commission the satellite into live service, which means that we probably won’t see the first signs of any new packages until mid to late 2023.