UK, France Launch New Telecommunication Satellite

The UK and France successfully launched a new telecommunication satellite from French Guiana on Saturday.

According to British media, the new smart Quantum platform is billed as a next-generation product. It was launched on an Ariane-5 rocket from French Guiana.

It will be occupied an orbital position 36,000km above the equator, just east of Somalia, from where it will serve principally North African and Middle Eastern customers.

Despite the fact that the UK has led the operation of manufacturing Quantum, it is the French, Paris-based operator Eutelsat that owns the spacecraft.

Developed by the British Surrey Satellites of Space Technology, the Quantum satellite will establish a mobile network with ground facilities to provide all-weather, all-time, stable, and reliable mobile communication services such as bouncing TV, phone calls, broadband, and data for users in the horn of Africa and its surrounding areas, the Middle East, and other related regions, as well as North African territory.

It's worth mentioning that the Quantum platform is considered as the first geostationary satellite and the first reprogrammable commercial telecommunications satellite in the world which identifies the mechanism of FAP (Fair Access Policy), according to the media.