French commercial space transportation company Arianespace has successfully launched its Ariane 5 rocket, with dual-payloads set to provide satellite broadband and television services to areas in Europe and beyond.

The launch occurred on Friday at the ELA-3 spaceport in Korou in French Guiana. It took 49 minutes to separate the satellites from the spacecraft and establish a signal after launch. Avanti Communications' Hylas 1 satellite was on board Ariane 5; it will theoretically be able to supply up to 350,000 residential customers with broadband connections of up to 10Mbps.