MUMBAI: Global satellite operator Eutelsat has announced that from 1 March 2012 it will be unifying the names of its satellites around the established Eutelsat brand.

From this date, the Group‘s satellites will take the Eutelsat name associated with the relevant figure for their orbital position and a letter indicating their order of arrival at that position. This new system has been devised to support Eutelsat‘s efforts to communicate its satellite branding and deployment in a consistent and homogenous way.

The logical pattern Eutelsat has selected will enable its growing community of users across all markets to immediately identify where a satellite is located - a key metric in the commercial satellite sector - and its chronology at the neighbourhood it occupies.

Eutelsat‘s Hot Bird brand, which, over 20 years has acquired a high and established reputation in the satellite TV industry, will be retained. It will be more closely associated with the Eutelsat name and adopt the numbering system to be implemented for all other satellites. For example Hot Bird 6 will become Eutelsat Hot Bird 13A. The same pattern will apply to KA-SAT.

Eutelsat chief commercial officer Andrew Wallace said, "We strive to associate the Eutelsat brand with customer service, engineering excellence and market-leading innovation. Associating the names of our satellites with our Group name and its heritage reflect this vision and mission. As we continue our push for further in-orbit expansion, with six satellites to be launched from 2012 to 2014, this new naming programme will enhance the awareness and understanding of our commercial offer."

In order to minimise any possible disruption for business partners, Eutelsat has decided on a three-month preparation period. This will allow appropriate time to plan for the change so that the switch on 1 March 2012 can be seamless and smooth for all stakeholders.

Until this date Eutelsat‘s current satellite names will continue to be used.