Ukrkosmos’ channel portfolio includes state-owned UTR, Kultura and KDRTRK, as well as Sport 1, Sport 2, Malyatko TV and Menu TV. Since UTR and Kultura are subject to must-carry rules, cable operators are obliged to offer the two channels as part of their bouquet. This allows SES ASTRA to immediately gain significant reach in Ukraine.

31.5 degrees East is SES ASTRA’s orbital position for Eastern Europe and the Middle East. It complements SES ASTRA’s very successful 5 degrees East orbital position that already delivers a large variety of channels to Ukraine and allows for further growth in the region.

Norbert Hölzle, Chief Commercial Officer of SES ASTRA, said: “We are delighted about this agreement with Ukrkosmos which demonstrates the strong dynamic in the region. Further to strengthening our long standing relationship with Ukrkosmos and its shareholder, the National Space agency of Ukraine, the agreement shows that we have succeeded in establishing 31.5 degrees East as an important orbital position for the Ukrainian market. We look forward to winning additional customers for this growing orbital position.”

Sergey Kapshtyk, General Director of State Enterprise Ukrkosmos: “The capacity agreement with SES ASTRA will allow us to offer superior signal quality and coverage over Ukraine and optimise the distribution of our customer’s content to terrestrial and cable networks. We are looking forward to continue working extensively with our colleagues from SES ASTRA to improve our offer to customers in Ukraine.”

It is expected that the transaction will close during the first quarter of 2011, subject to the realisation of certain conditions including regulatory approvals.

SES ASTRA has a long-standing business relationship with Astrium and has ordered a total of nine satellites from the satellite manufacturer. Six of these satellites are currently under construction at Astrium’s facilities across Europe.

Ferdinand Kayser, President and CEO of SES ASTRA, said: “This transaction will strengthen our relationship with Astrium Services through a joint shareholding in ND SatCom. It will also underpin our efforts to further enlarge the scope of our satellite infrastructure offering for governments and institutions, and to grow this promising new business segment. Together with Astrium Services, we will be able to take ND SatCom to the next phase of its development and strengthen its position.”

Eric Béranger, CEO of Astrium Services, said: “This move underlines our strong commitment to growing our business across Germany – one of our key home markets. With the deal due to conclude early next year, we will then have an opportunity to deploy significantly wider product range by combining Astrium’s secure satcoms, networks and terminals expertise with ND SatCom’s for a stronger offering to the civil, governmental and military markets.”

Sogecable is a long-standing ASTRA customer, broadcasting from 19.2 degrees East since its launch in 1993. It operates under the pay-TV brand Digital+ which has 1.8 million subscribers. SES ASTRA reaches 1.9 million free- and pay-TV households in Spain.

SES ASTRA is the leading HD platform in Europe, with 135 HD channels and around six million HD viewers on its satellite fleet. The Luxembourg-based company is operating in the main European TV markets with major customers, also managing the HD+ platform for commercial HD broadcasting in Germany.

Ferdinand Kayser, President and CEO of SES ASTRA, said: “We are very pleased to further intensify our relationship with Sogecable and support its HD developments. Our major activities in HD underline our role as a leading HD platform and technical service provider across all our major European markets.”
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CNN and the World Broadcasting Unions – International Satellite Operations Group (WBU-ISOG) will host the Forum as initiative supporters. The Forum will be organized jointly by GVF, the Global VSAT Forum and SUIRG, the Satellite Users Interference Reduction Group. The complimentary event will be held from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm at the CNN New York Bureau in the Time Warner Center and will provide an opportunity to learn about the latest of several industry solutions underway to improve quality of service and reduce operational costs. “WBU-ISOG and CNN are very pleased to host and encourage this important gathering to further efforts to diminish the problems associated with satellite interference, for both broadcasters and others who depend upon satellite communications. Meeting just in advance of SATCON is most timely as a way to attract industry experts to help advance this vital program”, said Dick Tauber, VP of Transmission Systems and New Technology for the CNN News Group and Chairman of WBU-ISOG.

“Signal theft and interference have been escalating globally, which is adversely impacting satellite broadcast and telecommunication services,” said the Forum organizers in a joint statement made by GVF, SUIRG and WBU-ISOG. “The problem is attributable to numerous sources of interference, each of which calls for a different solution. We are pleased to work together with all Satellite Operators and the End User community to identify effective measures to address the issue.”

The Forum will feature executives from major satellite operators, broadcasters, MSS and VSAT service providers, equipment manufacturers and other organizations with vested interests in helping combat the growing problem of satellite radio interference. Participants will delve into the latest developments of each facet of this crucial industry-changing initiative, evaluate their relative merits, and encourage broader industry dialogue and participation.

The Forum will feature topics such as:

• Characterizing the Interference Challenge

• Improving Deployments: VSAT and SNG Installation & Operations Training

• Tracking Remote Interference Sources

• Enabling Product Quality: Earth-Station Type Approvals

• Interference-Fighting Tools

• Addressing Terrestrial Wireless Interference

Reinforcing this hallmark industry collaboration, in the past year 18 leading satellite operators formed an alliance to launch a global initiative to mitigate interference through various means, including:

• Endorsement and support for expanded delivery of GVF’s VSAT Installation Certification Program,

• Advancement of the SUIRG effort to employ Carrier-ID solutions as a means of identifying sources and location of interference generated by satellite earth terminals, and

• Creation of a global data-sharing centre, registered on the Isle of Man.

“In parallel with this operator-backed initiative, the satellite industry has also implemented complementary solutions to address other interference sources,” said David Hartshorn, GVF Secretary General. “For example, to ensure production of high-performance satellite Earth stations, the industry has established an outsourced-type approvals mechanism called the Mutual Recognition Arrangement.” The industry has also mounted an international coordination effort to address mounting levels of interference generated by terrestrial wireless services. “These and other RFI-fighting remedies will be covered in detail at the October 12 Forum,” Hartshorn added.

The Administration of France, on behalf of the EUTELSAT satellite operator, notified the Radio Regulations Board (RRB) of the interference emanating from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran. While also considering correspondence from the Administration of Iran, the RRB determined that EUTELSAT satellite networks, operating in the orbital positions at 9E, 13E, 21.5E and 25.5E are receiving harmful interference. The Board noted that “the interfering signals appear to be of a nature that is prohibited under Radio Regulations No. 15.1″.

The Radio Regulations Board concluded that the interference appeared to be emanating from the territory of Iran “based on measurements provided by the Administration of France, and having confidence in the measurement techniques and technologies used, because they are recognized in the ITU-R Handbook on Spectrum Monitoring”.

The interference is reported to have persisted for some time, adversely affecting the operation of several EUTELSAT satellite transponders and channels. The Radio Regulations Board urged the Administration of Iran to continue its effort in locating the source of interference and to eliminate it as a matter of the highest priority.

The Administration of France and the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau have been called upon to assist the Administration of Iran in identifying the source of the interference.

The Radio Regulations Board is a part-time body comprising 12 members representing the world’s five regions: the Americas, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and Australasia. Among the Board’s responsibilities is to approve the technical criteria used by the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau in the application of Radio Regulations, to consider reports of harmful interference and to formulate recommendations for their resolution. If agreement cannot be reached between an administration and the Board on a Rule of Procedure, the matter is submitted to a World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) for ruling. The next WRC will be held January-February 2012.

The current Chairman of the Board is Mr Mindaugas Zilinskas of Lithuania.

It has recently come to the attention of atrexx that some customers of satellite operators are dissatisfied with the fact that they are tied into long-term capacity leases, and there is no flexibility offered to them in terms of opting out of their contract or exchanging their bandwidth.

Markus Schäfer, Managing Director, Marketing and Sales at atrexx explained: “Reasons for customers’ dissatisfaction with their long term leases could be the economic situation taking its toll, or new capacity being introduced to the market that offers better coverage and higher power. Unfortunately, satellite operators will generally not bend on the terms of the contract leaving the customer with capacity that they cannot use. Other customers want to upgrade existing leases to respond to increased demand, and they cannot do so as all capacity has been sold.”

atrexx provides a valuable solution to these problems – the atrexx Trading Platform: Established in 2002, the Platform is a satellite marketplace, designed to bring buyers and sellers of satellite related resources and services together. The Platform offers free registration to both parties. Once registered, they are able to post their request or their available services onto the platform. All postings are publicly – yet anonymously – accessible worldwide, to everyone with access to the Internet. Updates are available by e-mail as well as through Twitter tweets and RSS feeds.

The Platform offers many advantages for both the buyer and the seller. The seller benefits by making a sale on capacity that would otherwise have not been used. From the buyer’s point of view, the atrexx Platform provides them with a great choice of suppliers and therefore enables them to find the best deal possible and to realize considerable savings. When satellite capacity is scarce, as is currently the case for Africa and the Middle East, the resale market is often the only source to satisfy specific requests, as satellite operators are often sold out.

Once the registrant has identified a post that attracts them, atrexx takes over. atrexx opens the bidding process with the supplier on the buyer’s behalf, pre-negotiating the contract terms and acting within a well-defined framework. All parties know exactly where they stand. atrexx has already helped many who have found that they no longer wish to hold on to their capacity.

Edwin Cras, Managing Director of Castor Broadcasting B.V., a leading provider of voice, video, data and multimedia solutions, based in the Netherlands, voiced his satisfaction: “Finding the right satellite capacity at the right price used to involve a lot of phone calls to hopefully the right people. Selling is even tougher; often you were looking for the needle in the haystack. With the atrexx Trading Platform finding capacity is much easier!” Mr. Cras continued: “Selling is even better; everybody looking for capacity can now find a seller with great ease. This helps to avoid empty capacity sitting on your books eating your profits away. We at Castor for sure have benefitted from the atrexx Trading Platform.”

The atrexx Trading Platform offers its users a simple and stress-free way of obtaining or dispensing with capacity. In an age where bandwidth is a precious commodity, atrexx is able to maximize usage of any capacity left idle and often to provide the resources that are urgently needed.