SES (Paris:SESG)(LuxX:SESG) announced today that it will launch its satellite broadband service, SES Broadband, in Ka-band in November 2012. The new service will offer download speeds of up to 20 Mbit/s and upload speeds of up to 2 Mbit/s. It will be marketed via SES´ long-term partners NordNet, Vivéole and WIBOX to end-consumers in France.
SES Broadband in Ka-band will be available pending the launch and beginning of operations of SES´ ASTRA 2F satellite. The satellite is currently scheduled for launch on September 21, 2012 and will be located at the orbital position 28.2 degrees East.
SES has signed a cooperation agreement with Gilat Satellite Technologies and Newtec to set up the hub infrastructure and to deliver the end-user terminals for the Ka-band service to its customers.
"We are very pleased that the Ka-band ground infrastructure is now fully operational, with a new generation of end-user terminals from Gilat Satellite Technologies and Newtec soon to be available to our customers," said Patrick Biewer, Managing Director of SES Broadband Services. "With ASTRA 2F and the subsequent launches of ASTRA 2E, ASTRA 5B and ASTRA 2G in 2013 and 2014, we will be able to further expand our satellite broadband service in Europe with the additional Ka-band capacity on our fleet."
SES´ service providers welcome the arrival of the Ka-band based broadband service. Francis Piet, CEO of NordNet, said: "The new service will further increase the attractiveness of satellite broadband, which is now five times faster and half the price than it was in 2008."
Alexandre Séménadisse, CEO of Vivéole, said: "Vivéole has been committed to bridging the digital divide since 2005. As a long-standing partner of SES, we will soon be able to offer even better solutions to a larger customer base."
Thomas Gassiloud, President of WIBOX, said: "The fact that satellite technology has constantly developed allows us to meet the growing demand for broadband services in the regions. We can now offer services close to the speed of ADSL connections and traffic volumes offering unprecedented freedom of choice for our customers."
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About SES
SES is a world-leading satellite operator with a fleet of 51 geostationary satellites. The company provides satellite communications services to broadcasters, content and internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators and business and governmental organisations worldwide.
SES stands for long-lasting business relationships, high-quality service and excellence in the broadcasting industry. The culturally diverse regional teams of SES are located around the globe and work closely with customers to meet their specific satellite bandwidth and service requirements.
SES (Paris:SESG)(LuxX:SESG) holds participations in Ciel in Canada and QuetzSat in Mexico, as well as a strategic participation in satellite infrastructure start-up O3b Networks. Further information under: www.ses.com.
