On Saturday, October 19, 2024, Intelsat, a satellite communications provider, announced a service outage affecting the Intelsat 33e satellite, which disrupted services for customers in Europe, Africa, and parts of the Asia-Pacific region.
However, as of 48 hours later, Intelsat has not provided an update on when the satellite service might be restored. Based on current information, the company believes it is unlikely that the satellite will be recoverable.
The outage was caused by a loss of power, which affected the services provided to customers. Intelsat is working with Boeing, the satellite’s manufacturer, to address the issue.
The IS-33e satellite, designed and built by Boeing Space Systems, was launched in August 2016 and entered service in January 2017. In its announcement regarding the outage, Intelsat stated, “While we assess our fleet’s capacity and work with third-party providers to mitigate service interruptions, Intelsat representatives are in direct communication with all affected customers.”
This incident is not the first time Intelsat has encountered challenges with its satellites. In 2019, the Intelsat 29e satellite, also manufactured by Boeing, experienced a propulsion system anomaly that led to a propellant leak, ultimately resulting in its loss.
Intelsat’s latest outage comes shortly after the company unveiled a new satellite cellular backhaul service platform in Nigeria, aimed at enhancing connectivity in Nigeria and across Africa. The Intelsat CellBackhaul Nigeria initiative is designed to support mobile network operators (MNOs) and internet service providers (ISPs) in the region.
“The new Nigeria solution will be added to the existing platforms in several other African countries, delivering services to millions of people across thousands of cell towers,” Intelsat stated.
Since 2018, Intelsat, in partnership with Africa Mobile Networks (AMN), has reportedly deployed over 3,000 rural base satellite antennas across various countries in Africa, reaching more than 8 million people. The companies are also planning additional operations in Madagascar, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with AMN’s largest network located in Nigeria.
