Satellite operator, SES, has said its new ASTRA 2F satellite, which will provide Ku-band capacity for Sub-Saharan Africa, has been successfully launched.

The Luxembourg-based firm said the satellite has been launched on board an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana.

This is the 36th successful launch for SES.

ASTRA 2F was built by Astrium in the French city of Toulouse using a Eurostar E3000 platform and carries Ku-and-Ka-band payloads for the delivery of high-performance Direct-to-Home (DTH) and next generation broadband services.

Its launch comes two months after another operator, Avanti, launched its HYLAS 2 Ka-band satellite, which is delivering high-speed data capacity across the African continent.

And its Ka-band payload could allow SES Broadband Services to support download speeds of up to 20Mbps.

“The successful launch of ASTRA 2F is part of our fleet replacement and expansion programme,” said Romain Bausch, SES chief executive officer.

ASTRA 2F has a design life of 15 years. It is the fifth Eurostar satellite in the SES fleet.

The satellite is planned to be brought into commercial service in the next few weeks, following the completion of the extensive in-orbit testing programme.