[3] Eutelsat W2M, as it was then named, was originally launched on 20 December 2008 aboard an Ariane 5ECA carrier rocket along with the Hot Bird 9 spacecraft.

[5] It was to have been placed in geosynchronous orbit at 16°E, from where it was to provide communications services to Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, with 32 NATO J-band (IEEE Ku band) transponders.

On the same day Eutelsat also confirmed that the unavailability of W2M does not impact on the Group's guidance for revenues in excess of 900 million euros for the 2008–2009 financial year since the W2M satellite programme is fully insured.

[9] In January 2014 the Afghan Ministry of Communications and Information Technology signed an agreement with Eutelsat for the use of satellite resources to enhance deployment of Afghanistan's national broadcasting and telecommunications infrastructure as well as its international connectivity.

Eutelsat 48D supports a wide range of services including broadcasting, mobile telephony backhaul and IP connectivity.