European News via SIRIUS
1 Mar, 2007
The European Commission's TV service EbS, Europe by Satellite, is being broadcast free-to-air (unencrypted), as from 1 March on SIRIUS 2 and on NSS-806. Please find the press release from SES ASTRA below:
SES ASTRA, an SES company (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) has announced today that it has started to transmit the "Europe by Satellite" service, a multilingual TV news service from the European Commission. SES ASTRA transmits the service from SES satellites at two orbital positions. It uses the Sirius-2 satellite positioned at 5° East to broadcast over the European continent, North Africa and the Middle East. It also uses the NSS-806 satellite positioned at 319.5° East to provide extended coverage to the East Coast of the United States, to Latin America, the Caribbean and the Canary Islands. The contract with the European Union (EU) also includes providing the technical infrastructure required for the service.
“The transmission of this service by the SES satellite fleet gives it a wider multi regional coverage and allows the European Commission to reach all EU countries as well as other continents”, says Alexander Oudendijk, Chief Commercial Officer of SES ASTRA. “Our contract with the EU shows that SES can combine its global space assets with additional services and offer international customers and institutions a broad range of technical solutions for information and data transmission around the globe. We are proud to start this new collaboration with the European Union.”
About SES ASTRA www.ses-astra.com
SES ASTRA is the leading Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite system in Europe, delivering services to some 107 million Direct-to-Home and cable households. The ASTRA satellite fleet currently comprises 12 satellites, transmitting more than 1,860 analogue and digital television and radio channels. SES ASTRA also provides satellite-based multimedia, internet and telecommunication services to enterprises, governments and their agencies. With 26 High Definition (HD) channels available via its satellites today, ASTRA is also the most important HDTV broadcasting platform in Europe. ASTRA's prime orbital positions are 19.2° East, 28.2° East and 23.5° East.
SES ASTRA is an SES company (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG). SES wholly owns three market-leading satellite operators, SES ASTRA in Europe, SES AMERICOM in North America, and SES NEW SKIES, which provides global connectivity as well as coverage. The Company also holds strategic participations in AsiaSat in Asia, Star One in Latin America, SES Sirius in Europe, Ciel in Canada and Quetzsat in Mexico. Americom Government Services provides network solutions and bandwidth to the US government and its contractors. SES provides outstanding satellite communications solutions via a fleet of 44 satellites on 33 orbital positions around the globe. Additional information on SES is available at: www.ses-global.com
