SES leans on SKY Perfect JSAT as inflight demand outpaces expanded fleet

TAMPA, Fla. — SES has turned to Japan’s flagship operator for extra satellite bandwidth to keep up with soaring connectivity demand from passengers flying across Asia, even after significantly expanding its own fleet by buying Intelsat.

The Luxembourg-based multi-orbit operator announced Nov. 4 it is leasing the entire Ku-band capacity on SKY Perfect JSAT’s Superbird-C2, an aging geostationary satellite launched over Japan in August 2008.

Superbird-C2 will be moved from 144 degrees East to another orbital slot over Japan that the company did not disclose for services starting this winter.

SES has around 90 satellites in geostationary orbit after absorbing Intelsat’s fleet in July, which is roughly a third more than GEO rivals Eutelsat, Viasat and Telesat combined.

Adam Troy, vice president of satellite-related services at SES, said the company’s need to augment its network in Asia with third-party resources stems from the success of both legacy companies in the region.

“The aviation market continues so see a surge in demand due to increased passenger uptake, wider deployment of wifi and streaming on many aircraft,” he said via email.

He said SES is counting on two to three years of service from Superbird-C2 as the satellite nears the end of its operational life.

The company currently leases capacity from three other SKY Perfect JSAT satellites.

Tsutomu Kimura, group president of the space business unit within SKY Perfect JSAT’s space solutions division, said: “We have built a strong partnership with SES for over 20 years, and since providing the “JCSAT-5A” satellite in 2016, we have continued to strengthen our collaboration in the in-flight internet business.”