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.”

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.”
Back!

In recent years, the satellite communications industry has experienced an escalation of signal interference, adversely impacting broadcast and telecommunication services. The Initiative has launched a multiple front campaign to combat this trend. The first aspect is a carrier ID working forum to pursue industry implementation of carrier ID: a means to identify interfering signals. The second aspect is the formation of the Space Data Association- an organization that will facilitate collecting and sharing interference event data amongst its satellite operator members. The third aspect is VSAT installer training.Installation by inadequately trained technicians is one of the main causes of interference identified by the Initiative. GVF has responded by enhancing the established VSAT Installer Training program to focus even more strongly on the skills necessary to avoid accidental generation of adjacent-satellite, cross-pol, and re-radiation interference.

As part of the Initiative, Intelsat has announcedtheir intent to train 400 installers per year through GVF for the next three years. SES has also formally adopted the GVF program, saying the training would help in its efforts to refocus the industry’s approach to managing and preventing interference. They have been joined by other satellite operators such as Eutelsat, Inmarsat, Telesat, Asiasat and others in endorsing the GVF’s new Basic Certification level and the associated online training course, GVF510, specifically targeted at delivering the core skills needed by field technicians to avoid creating VSAT-generated interference.

Whether it is mitigating uplink interference via the Basic Certification, providing solid knowledge and skills in VSAT installation, maintenance, and troubleshooting via the Advanced Certification, or gaining skills for installation, maintenance, and troubleshooting of specific equipment types via Specialist Certifications, the GVF Certification Program provides training for the knowledge and skills you need to be successful in the VSAT industry.

SES ASTRA announced that it has been awarded a second contract by the European Commission (EC) to provide hosted payload services for EGNOS, the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service. The contract was awarded following a tender by the European Commission. EGNOS is Europe’s first contribution to satellite navigation and a precursor of Galileo, the global satellite navigation system that the European Union (EU) is developing. The programme is managed by the EC on behalf of the European Union.
The new payload will operate in L-band and be located onboard SES ASTRA’s new ASTRA 5B satellite that was recently ordered from EADS ASTRIUM. The satellite is scheduled for launch in the second quarter of 2013 and will be positioned at SES ASTRA’s 31.5 degrees East orbital position. In addition to the payload, SES ASTRA will also provide the related ground infrastructure needed to operate the awarded payload.

EGNOS is a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) that is intended to supplement the GPS, GLONASS and Galileo systems by reporting on the reliability and accuracy of satellite navigation signals over Europe. The entire system consists of a network of ground stations and control centres that will relay EGNOS information to users via geostationary transponders. While EGNOS covers the European states area, the hosting satellite has the built-in capability to extend coverage to other regions, including Africa and neighbouring countries of the EU.

The award to provide hosted payload services onboard ASTRA 5B follows a first agreement with the European Commission for EGNOS hosted payload services onboard SES ASTRA’s SIRIUS 5 satellite. The contract for hosted payload services onboard SIRIUS 5 was awarded to SES ASTRA following a tender that took place in 2008. SIRIUS 5, currently under construction by Space Systems/Loral and scheduled for launch in the second half of 2011, will be positioned at the 5 degrees East orbital position. In addition to EGNOS, SES ASTRA is already providing infrastructure services to Galileo.

Ferdinand Kayser, President and CEO of SES ASTRA, said: “We are very pleased that the European Commission has again chosen us to provide services for the EGNOS system. The fact that SES ASTRA is now providing two hosted payloads for EGNOS is a great endorsement of our excellence and expertise in the field of satellite programmes and related operations. It proves that our strategy to diversify our business and to provide global telecommunications services for governments and supra-national institutions, as well as multinational organisations, is bearing fruit. We are convinced that our skills and expertise as well as our fleet assets greatly benefit our institutional and governmental customers, and make us an ideal partner to provide additional hosted payloads and full satellite programmes in the future.”

SES ASTRA announced that it has been awarded a second contract by the European Commission (EC) to provide hosted payload services for EGNOS, the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service. The contract was awarded following a tender by the European Commission. EGNOS is Europe’s first contribution to satellite navigation and a precursor of Galileo, the global satellite navigation system that the European Union (EU) is developing. The programme is managed by the EC on behalf of the European Union.

The new payload will operate in L-band and be located onboard SES ASTRA’s new ASTRA 5B satellite that was recently ordered from EADS ASTRIUM. The satellite is scheduled for launch in the second quarter of 2013 and will be positioned at SES ASTRA’s 31.5 degrees East orbital position. In addition to the payload, SES ASTRA will also provide the related ground infrastructure needed to operate the awarded payload.

EGNOS is a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) that is intended to supplement the GPS, GLONASS and Galileo systems by reporting on the reliability and accuracy of satellite navigation signals over Europe. The entire system consists of a network of ground stations and control centres that will relay EGNOS information to users via geostationary transponders. While EGNOS covers the European states area, the hosting satellite has the built-in capability to extend coverage to other regions, including Africa and neighbouring countries of the EU.

The award to provide hosted payload services onboard ASTRA 5B follows a first agreement with the European Commission for EGNOS hosted payload services onboard SES ASTRA’s SIRIUS 5 satellite. The contract for hosted payload services onboard SIRIUS 5 was awarded to SES ASTRA following a tender that took place in 2008. SIRIUS 5, currently under construction by Space Systems/Loral and scheduled for launch in the second half of 2011, will be positioned at the 5 degrees East orbital position. In addition to EGNOS, SES ASTRA is already providing infrastructure services to Galileo.

Ferdinand Kayser, President and CEO of SES ASTRA, said: “We are very pleased that the European Commission has again chosen us to provide services for the EGNOS system. The fact that SES ASTRA is now providing two hosted payloads for EGNOS is a great endorsement of our excellence and expertise in the field of satellite programmes and related operations. It proves that our strategy to diversify our business and to provide global telecommunications services for governments and supra-national institutions, as well as multinational organisations, is bearing fruit. We are convinced that our skills and expertise as well as our fleet assets greatly benefit our institutional and governmental customers, and make us an ideal partner to provide additional hosted payloads and full satellite programmes in the future.”

The new satellites, to be designated ASTRA 2E, ASTRA 2F, ASTRA 2G and ASTRA 5B, will allow the release of the existing satellites at two orbital positions (28.2 and 31.5 degrees East) and add new capacity as well as fleet deployment flexibility for the SES group over the coming years. The satellites are scheduled for launch in several steps between 2012 and 2014. The design life of each satellite is 15 years.

?This important investment in new satellite capacity will enhance the prominence of SES ASTRA?s 28.2 degrees East position, mainly for the UK and Irish markets, and improve coverage of Eastern Europe from 31.5 degrees East,? said Romain Bausch, President and CEO of SES. ?It will also allow SES WORLD SKIES to extend its offer to the African and Middle Eastern markets. By adding significant flexibility and improved functionality, these new satellites will allow SES to further drive its DTH, DTT, enterprise and broadband businesses while consolidating space assets and strengthening the international reach of the group. Also, we are pleased to be working again with Astrium. SES has appreciated the quality of their products and their customer dedication in recent and ongoing contracts, and this is exactly what we are looking for in this multi-satellite contract.?

The four new satellites will be built on a Eurostar E3000 platform, the latest version of Astrium?s Eurostar series which has proven to be highly reliable in commercial service. A total of 60 Eurostar satellites have been ordered to date. SES has already ordered three Eurostar E3000s: ASTRA 1M, which entered into service one year ago; ASTRA 3B, ready for launch early next year; and ASTRA 1N, which was ordered last year and is currently under construction.

“Astrium is extremely proud to have been selected by the world’s premier satellite operator, and I would like to profoundly thank SES for their confidence. Following a rigorous selection process among the world’s leading satellite manufacturers, Astrium demonstrated that it offered the best solutions for SES. The decision to order four satellites in a single contract increases Astrium?s long-term standing as a market leader in satellite production. I would also like to express my gratitude to the teams on both sides of the table for their outstanding professionalism, which ultimately made it possible to sign one of the biggest contracts for telecommunications satellites in the world,” said Astrium CEO François Auque.

Three of the new spacecraft, ASTRA 2E, ASTRA 2F and ASTRA 2G, will serve to deliver next generation broadcast, VSAT and broadband services in Europe and Africa, and will carry Ku-and Ka-band payloads at 28.2 degrees East.

The Ku-band capacity will allow SES ASTRA to enhance and secure its existing offering to major Direct-to-Home (DTH) markets in the UK and Ireland. With a Ku-band payload specifically designed to meet the requirements of some of Europe?s largest DTH broadcasters, the satellites will have spot beam and pan-European beam switching capabilities to accommodate both pay-TV and free-to-air broadcasters, and to provide these customers with increased functionality. SES ASTRA customers in this region include BSkyB, BBC, ITV, Freesat, Channel Four, UK TV, Virgin Media, Five, MTV and Discovery. The Ka-band payload will allow SES ASTRA to develop next generation broadband services in Europe, including its growing ASTRA2Connect product.

ASTRA 2E, ASTRA 2F and ASTRA 2G will also include replacement and new capacity for the SES WORLD SKIES division, serving the African and the Middle Eastern markets with Ku-and Ka-band capacity. The new capacity will provide continuity of service and expansion opportunities for customers that are today already using the ASTRA 2B steerable beam over West Africa, as well as for new customers

ASTRA 5B will be deployed at the orbital position 31.5 degrees East, extending SES ASTRA’s transponder capacity and geographical reach over Eastern European and neighboring markets for DTH, Direct-to-Cable (DTC) and contribution feeds to Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) networks.

SES? orbital position 28.2 degrees East is currently served by the ASTRA 2A, 2B and 2D spacecraft. The 31.5 degrees East position is currently served by ASTRA 2C.

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.

Yahsat

SES ASTRA announced that it has entered into a partnership with the Arab satellite operator Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) to create a new company operating under the YahLive brand that will offer Direct-to-Home (DTH) television capacity and services to more than two dozen countries in the Middle East, North Africa and South West Asia, a large region mainly including the Gulf states and the Maghreb.

YahLive will offer DTH satellite services to free-to-air and pay-TV broadcasters in this region. It will own and commercialise 23 BSS-transponders on the Yahsat 1A spacecraft to be positioned at the 52.5 degrees East orbital position and operating in the Ku-band frequency. The satellite, procured from a consortium of EADS Astrium and Thales Alenia Space, is currently under construction and is scheduled to be launched by the fourth quarter of 2010.

Yahsat is a private joint stock company based in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and owned by Mubadala, the investment arm of the government of Abu Dhabi.

“Creating a company with Yahsat opens a very important and dynamic new market for us, where we can leverage our core DTH competences and join forces with a strong player in the region, ” said Ferdinand Kayser, Chief Executive Officer of SES ASTRA. “This partnership will establish a major business hub for SES ASTRA in the Middle East, and will add a new dimension to the existing strong regional presence of SES through the satellite operator SES NEW SKIES and the system integrator ND SatCom. The region is a market with significant growth potential as the fill rate of the Ku-band capacity is estimated at 90 percent, while demand is expected to grow faster than supply. We are very pleased to work with Yahsat to tap these markets and to contribute our knowledge in deploying satellite capacity as well as a large range of specialised ground and broadcasting services.”

“We are very pleased to announce this strategic partnership with one of the world’s leading satellite broadcasting operators. SES ASTRA’s significant experience in this sector will fast track our ability to create a new TV hotspot over the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region,” said Jassem Al Zaabi, Yahsat’s Chief Executive Officer. “This alliance also confirms the satellite industry’s conviction that Yahsat is the partner of choice in the region. As a new player in the broadcasting sector, we believe this partnership will enable Yahsat to make a very strong entry into the market.”

Steve Collar, Senior Vice President of Market Development: Steve is responsible for the growth of the new division?s satellite and service portfolio including the definition of new spacecraft and products. Steve also oversees the long range strategic planning activities in close cooperation with other SES group entities.

Anders Johnson, Senior Vice President Strategic Satellite Development: Anders is responsible for the creation, development and execution of custom satellite solutions for large users of satellite bandwidth, as well as for the division?s spectrum development activities. Anders previously headed SES AMERICOM?s business development group.

Robert Kisilywicz, Chief Financial Officer (CFO): Rob is responsible for overall financial planning, reporting, procurement and risk management as well as supporting investor relations activities for SES in North America. Rob was the CFO of SES AMERICOM and previously served as Vice President and Controller of GE AMERICOM, and as Senior Manager with KPMG LLP in their auditing and M&A practices.

Bryan McGuirk, Senior Vice President Media Services: Bryan is responsible for building and maintaining the division?s leadership in media & entertainment distribution throughout North America and oversees occasional use sales globally. Bryan has held senior management positions in traditional broadcasting and cable networks, as well as being at the forefront of interactive technology developments in television programming.

Tip Osterthaler, President and CEO of AMERICOM GOVERNMENT SERVICES (AGS): Tip, a retired Brigadier General, leverages AMERICOM?s 30-year heritage of experience in the government SATCOM market offering comprehensive satellite-based communications solutions to U.S. federal agencies.

Thai Rubin, Senior Vice President and General Counsel: Thai oversees all legal and regulatory responsibilities of the new division. He joined New Skies at its inception in 1998 as Associate General Counsel, with responsibility for commercial contracts related to satellite and launch procurements, strategic transactions and customer contracts. Before joining New Skies, he was Senior Legal Counsel at PanAmSat.

Henk Slettenhaar, Vice President Human Resources: Henk leads the Human Resources teams located in The Netherlands and the United States. His responsibilities include staffing, compensation & benefits, training & development, payroll and general HRM for the company?s offices around the world.

Gerson Souto, Senior Vice President Commercial Services: Gerson assumes overall responsibility for the commercial management of existing satellite capacity and service offerings; asset/yield management, product management, business analysis, contingency and transition planning; marketing communications and media relations. Gerson joined SES in 1998 and came to NEW SKIES in 2007. Previously he worked at Intelsat and prior to that at Embratel, a Brazilian telecommunications long distance carrier.

Scott J. Sprague, Senior Vice President Global Sales: Scott leads the global sales team located throughout regional offices around the world. His primary responsibilities include generating revenues across all products and services, providing additional senior level customer interaction, and assessing and developing alternate sales channels.

States Rob Bednarek, President and CEO of SES AMERICOM-NEW SKIES: ?I am very confident that this team of experienced industry veterans will drive our new division to the highest levels of excellence as we provide customized satellite capacity solutions to media, telecom, enterprise and government customers on a global basis. Our 25 satellites, within a total SES fleet of 40 satellites in orbit, clearly illustrate our ability to support business growth for our customers. Plus, with six satellites under construction, we are well-positioned to significantly increase capacity in the future.?

With its 36 transponders, ASTRA 1M will deliver Direct-to-Home (DTH) and HDTV services to continental Europe thereby offering important replacement capacity and reinforcing ASTRA’s position as the most important HDTV platform in Europe.

“With ASTRA 1M now operational, we have reached another very important milestone in our fleet renewal programme, thus maintaining and strengthening our main orbital position at 19.2 degrees East and further increasing our flexibility in deploying our fleet,” said Ferdinand Kayser, President and CEO of SES ASTRA.