SES ASTRA, an SES company (Paris:SESG) (LuxX:SESG), today announced that it has signed the first capacity agreement with a customer for its African capacity ASTRA 4A at the orbital position 5 degrees East. The South African broadcaster ETV contracted one transponder on the beam targeting the sub–Saharan region. ETV uses the capacity for its 24–hours news channel broadcast which is carried by the South African bouquet Multichoice.
The beam with six Ku–band transponders is on board the Sirius 4 satellite and is marketed separately under the name ASTRA 4A. SES ASTRA is in advanced negotiations with other parties to contract the remaining capacity on ASTRA 4A.
"This first contract with ETV and the very promising negotiations with other customers confirm our view that the African market has tremendous potential for us," said Alexander Oudendijk, Chief Commercial Officer of SES ASTRA.
About SES ASTRA www.ses–astra.com
SES ASTRA is the leading Direct–to–Home (DTH) satellite system in Europe. The satellite fleet currently comprises 14 ASTRA and two SIRIUS satellites. The combined satellite system delivers services to more than 117 million DTH and cable households and transmits a total of 2,295 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 46 High Definition (HD) channels concentrated on its main orbital positions, ASTRA and SIRIUS represent the most important HDTV platform for Europe´s leading broadcasters. The prime orbital positions for ASTRA and SIRIUS are 19.2° East, 28.2° East, 23.5° East, 5° East and 31.5° 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 provides global coverage and connectivity. The company owns 90 percent of SES SIRIUS in Europe, as well as strategic participations in Ciel in Canada and Quetzsat in Mexico. SES provides outstanding satellite communications solutions via a fleet of 38 satellites in 25 orbital positions around the globe. Additional information on SES is available at: www.ses.com
