The Eurovision Network run by the European Broadcasting Union will operate this earth station pointing at the Eutelsat W3 satellite (7 degrees east).

The 1.3-tonne satellite dish is mounted on a 24-tonne base and designed to withstand wind speeds of up to 200 kph.

The transmitters and receivers for the earth station - which will transmit and receive Eurovision, Euroradio and new services such as the EBU Extranet -will be housed in an extension to the existing equipment room. 

All the earth station equipment, including the antenna, will be controlled and monitored from the Eurovision Control Centre.

Apart from reducing operating costs, other advantages of the EBU operating its own earth station include:

• Quicker restoration in the case of equipment breakdowns.
• Maintenance quality and hence reliability determined by the EBU.
• Cheaper and quicker introduction of new services.  

The project was managed by James Smith, engineer with the EBU.