Satellite operator Eutelsat Communications and telecommunications-technology vendor Alcatel announced that Eutelsat will launch an S-band payload on the W2A satellite. According to Alcatel, this decision marks a major success for its strategy to promote mobile TV in the S band in Europe and confirms its vision of the market. The payload employs Alcatel's Alenia Space Spacebus 4000C4 platform; W2A's satellites also comprise as many as 46 transponders in the Ku band and 10 transponders in the C-band payload. With a lifetime of more than 15 years, W2A has a maximum launch mass of 5.7 tons and delivers 11 kW of payload power.

The S-band payload at 2.2 GHz on W2A will allow the delivery, for the first time, of mobile-multimedia-broadcast services, including mobile TV and digital radio, directly onto user terminals over France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom. It will therefore initiate the building of a hybrid infrastructure over Europe, combining satellite and terrestrial networks, providing both universal coverage and indoor penetration for mobile-TV services. W2A's S-band payloads will also enable other communications services, such as security communications or crisis management. The W2A satellite will be in orbit in the beginning of 2009. The companies expect that terrestrial deployment could start by the end of 2007.