SES ASTRA, an SES company (Paris:SESG) (LuxX:SESG), announced
today that it has moved its satellite ASTRA 1E from the orbital
position 19.2 degrees East to 23.5 degrees East to replace the
satellite ASTRA 1D which is approaching the end of its design life.
At its new position, ASTRA 1E joins ASTRA 3A and will become
operational by the end of this month. The move of ASTRA 1E was made
possible by the successful launch of ASTRA 1L, which started its
services at 19.2 degrees East in July. To further enhance the 23.5
degrees East position, another new satellite, ASTRA 3B, is scheduled
to be launched by the end of 2009, adding 19 transponders to the 37
transponders available on ASTRA 3A and ASTRA 1E at this orbital
position today.
SES ASTRA is building 23.5 degrees East into a new prime orbital
slot for Direct-to-Home (DTH) reception, focusing specifically on the
dynamic Benelux and Central and Eastern European markets. Today, more
than 330 TV and radio channels are available from 23.5 degrees East,
including the satellite platform operators Sky Link from Slovakia and
CS Link from the Czech Republic. CS Link now disposes of 250,000
activated smart cards in the market; the Czech broadcaster Nova TV
launches its new first Czech High Definition (HD) pilot channel on CS
Link.
23.5 degrees East also transmits the Dutch regional broadcasters
and the Netherlands' satellite TV provider Canal Digitaal. SES ASTRA
has recently concluded an agreement with Canal Digitaal to use further
capacity on 23.5 degrees East for the launch of a new thematic bouquet
at the end of this month and for a new HD bouquet next year. The
successful introduction of satellite dish devices for the simultaneous
reception of signals from 19.2 degrees and 23.5 degrees East with Duo
LNBs allows satellite homes to receive nearly 1,500 digital free- and
pay-TV and radio programs and services from these two orbital slots of
SES ASTRA.
The innovative satellite broadband service ASTRA2Connect is
transmitted from 23.5 degrees East and will be further developed. The
change of satellites at 23.5 degrees East will have no impact on
customer services as the two satellites are using the same
frequencies.
"The move of ASTRA 1E is an important step for SES ASTRA to
further extend our DTH services for broadcasters across Europe at our
orbital position 23.5 degrees East", said Alexander Oudendijk, Chief
Commercial Officer of SES ASTRA. "It builds a basis for additional
growth in the DTH and two-way broadband business. With ASTRA 1E and
the launch of ASTRA 3B, we will continue to develop our satellite
fleet significantly and increase the attractiveness and the high
quality of our services to customers."
About SES ASTRA www.ses-astra.com
SES ASTRA is the leading Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite system in
Europe, delivering services to more than 109 million DTH and cable
households. The ASTRA satellite fleet currently comprises 13
satellites, transmitting 1,864 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 degrees East, 28.2 degrees East, and 23.5 degrees East.
SES ASTRA is an SES company (Paris:SESG) (LuxX:SESG). SES owns
three market-leading satellite operators, SES ASTRA in Europe, SES
AMERICOM in North America, and SES NEW SKIES, which provide global
coverage and connectivity. The Company also holds strategic
participations in SES Sirius in Europe, Ciel in Canada and Quetzsat in
Mexico. SES provides outstanding satellite communications solutions
via a fleet of 37 satellites in 25 orbital positions around the globe.
Additional information on SES is available at: www.ses.com
