PALO ALTO, CALIF., and GERMANTOWN, MD.: EchoStar soon will be launching a high-capacity broadband satellite. Space Systems/Loral, which built the bird for EchoStar subsidiary Hughes Network Systems, said the satellite had arrived in Kourou, French Guiana, where it will be carried aloft aboard the Ariane 5 heavy-lift launcher.

The satellite, EchoStar XVII will be used to provide HughesNet Gen4 high-speed Internet service in North America. EchoStar XVII is an all Ka-band, broadband satellite designed to provide more than 100 Gbps capacity to the HughesNet subscriber base. Its multi-spot beam architecture will expand coverage and focus capacity on the areas with the highest traffic demand. The satellite will be the fourth dedicated broadband satellite built by SS/L to orbit the earth.