Amsterdam – VIVACOM, the leading provider of telecom services in Bulgaria, announced at IBC in Amsterdam the signature of a multi-year contract with Eutelsat for C-band capacity on the EUTELSAT 8 West B satellite in order to expand its video business in Africa.

VIVACOM’s ambition is to provide contribution services for international channels seeking carriage by major African pay-TV operators. The first six channels are already being uplinked to EUTELSAT 8 West B from Bulgaria, using VIVACOM’s Plana teleport which is also one of Eutelsat’s partner teleports, certified under the World Teleport Association’s Teleport Certification Program.

Vladimir Rangelov, Senior Manager Broadcasting services in VIVACOM, said: “Through our Plana teleport, we offer channels end-to-end solutions for signal acquisition, encoding, encryption, uplink and downlink via satellite with excellent quality and reliability. This contract adds new value for our customers by giving them access to the African market and marks another milestone in a collaboration with Eutelsat that we look forward to pursuing.”

Michel Azibert, Eutelsat’s Chief Commercial and Development Officer, added: “This contract consolidates our EUTELSAT 8 West B satellite as a major platform for highly reliable contribution services into the African market. It is a first step to support VIVACOM ‘s development into Africa.”