Intelsat and Telenor Satellite Broadcasting AS (TSBc)
today jointly announced that they have entered into an agreement to
interconnect the two companies' fiber networks in London, providing
customers of both Intelsat and Telenor with expanded, seamless access
to new regions and services through each provider.
Under the agreement, Telenor now has complete access to services
on Intelsat's 51 satellites and GlobalConnex Media fiber and teleport
network. This enables Telenor to offer global, end-to-end solutions to
its broadcast customers who are primarily located in the UK,
Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. Telenor expects this new capability to
generate particular interest among European broadcasters who are
seeking to carry U.S. professional sports content, especially for
basketball and ice-hockey, which are already carried on Intelsat's
U.S. fiber network in both high definition (HD) and standard
definition (SD).
The London interconnect, being established as an extension of
Intelsat's successful partnership with Broadwing Communications in the
U.S., will allow Intelsat to provide its customers worldwide with
services originating and terminating in six of Telenor's European
points-of-presence (PoP). Content will pass through the interconnect
in first generation, with no format changes or conversions necessary.
This will allow Intelsat to better support coverage of sports and news
events originating in the region, and improve access to DTH platforms
on Intelsat and Telenor satellites that are co-located at 1 degree W.
"This agreement is the latest phase in our successful,
long-standing relationship with Intelsat. We expect this interconnect
will significantly expand our customer service in Europe," said David
Gilmore, Telenor's Commercial Director. "We look forward to bringing
enhanced sports and news coverage in both SD and HD to programmers in
Europe, as well as marketing the 1 degree W European DTH platform to
programmers worldwide."
Stephen Spengler, Intelsat's Senior Vice President, Europe,
Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific Sales, said, "The expansion of
our presence in London is another example of how Intelsat, working in
partnership with customers such as Telenor, is continuing to deliver
more flexible and comprehensive solutions. Our customers can now
access the huge quantity of content carried on our network each day
and reach global cable and DTH platforms in more than 40 cities on
three continents via a simple fiber connection."
About the New Intelsat
Intelsat is the largest provider of fixed satellite services
worldwide and is the leading provider of these services to each of the
media, network services/telecom and government customer sectors,
enabling people and businesses everywhere constant access to
information and entertainment. Intelsat offers customers a greater
business potential by providing them unrivaled resources with ease of
business and peace of mind. Our services are utilized by an extensive
customer base, including some of the world's leading media and
communications companies, multinational corporations, Internet service
providers and government/military organizations. Real-time, constant
communication with people anywhere in the world is closer, by far.
About Telenor Satellite Broadcasting
Telenor Satellite Broadcasting is part of Telenor Broadcast, one
of the three core businesses of Norway's leading communications
operator, Telenor ASA. Telenor Satellite Broadcasting provides
extensive television broadcasting services for distribution,
contribution and occasional applications to all the Nordic
Broadcasters and many other broadcasters throughout Europe, using its
hybrid network comprised of (three) satellites, terrestrial circuits
and earth stations. Additionally, it provides fixed satellite
communication and uplinking services for data and remote Internet
applications together with VSAT and broadband services in Europe and
the Middle East. Visit the company's website at www.telenorsbc.com
Intelsat Safe Harbor Statement: Some of the statements in this
news release constitute "forward-looking statements" that do not
directly or exclusively relate to historical facts. The
forward-looking statements made in this release reflect Intelsat's
intentions, plans, expectations, assumptions and beliefs about future
events and are subject to risks, including known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of
Intelsat's control. Important factors that could cause actual results
to differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in the
forward-looking statements include known and unknown risks. Detailed
information about some of the known risks is included in Intelsat's
annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 and
Intelsat's registration statement on Form S-4 on file with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission. Because actual results could
differ materially from Intelsat's intentions, plans, expectations,
assumptions and beliefs about the future, you are urged to view all
forward-looking statements contained in this news release with
caution. Intelsat does not undertake any obligation to update or
revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
