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Satellite Operator News Report #3:
TELE-satellite News Service
UK SATELLITE CONTROL
Satellite Operator News Service.
Satellite Operator News Report #3:
-NSAB AND SES ANNOUNCE AGREEMENT FOR SIRIUS 3 T0 BE LEASED BY SES
3rd July 1998
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Editor: Neil Anthony Powell
Email: uksat@sat-net.com or uk-sat@usa.net
UK Satellite Control: http://www.sat-net.com/uk-satellite/
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NSAB AND SES ANNOUNCE AGREEMENT FOR SIRIUS 3 T0 BE LEASED BY SES
The Nordic Satellite Company, NSAB, based in Sweden and operating the
Sirius satellites, will launch
Sirius 3 this autumn. After thorough market analysis NSAB has concluded
that the slower than expected ml
roll-out of digital satellite television in Scandinavia will lead to a
delay in the demand for transponder
capacity in the Nordic market. Within the framework of an agreement
concluded on June 19th, 1998, NSAB
has therefore leased the Sirius 3 satellite to Luxembourg-based Societe
Europe enne des Satellites (SES),
the operator of the ASTRA Satellite System. In addition the agreement
opens the possibility for back up
capacity to be provided by SES to NSAB.
SES has seized the opportunity to use Sirius 3 for up to 12 months to
provide interim transmission
capacity, thereby further securing the development of digital services
in the UK and Ireland.
By providing back-up capacity to the ASTRA 2A satellite, which is
expected to be launched into the orbital
location of 28.20 East in August 1998, Sirius 3 will extend the ASTRA
Satellite System's inter-satellite
protection to SES' second orbital position.
Co-located with ASTRA 2A, the Sirius 3 spacecraft will also make
available additional transponder
capacity in order to meet the increasing demand of broadcasting
customers targeting the UK and Irish
markets.
Upon completion of the lease to SES and in no event later than October
1st, 1999, Sirius 3 will be
transferred to NSAB's orbital position in 50 East where it will replace
Sirius 1 and offer additional capacity
for digital TV and multimedia services.
Comments Mr. Romain Bausch, Director General and Chairman of the
Management Committee of SES:
'We welcome the agreement reached between NSAB and SES, which will
benefit both parties. Beyond
developing a second orbital position and providing SES' clients with a
secured fleet configuration from the
start of operations, this agreement represents a significant first step
in SES' strategy of strengthening the
Company's cooperation with regional satellite operators."
KIas Anggard, Chairman of NSAB concurs: "We also welcome the agreement
reached between our two
companies including the potential for further co-operation. Through the
agreement we have secured
effective and economical use of Sirius 3 during the first year. It is
simply good business for both parties."
Sirius 3 is an HS-376 HP-type satellite manufactured by Hughes Space and
Communications. The
spacecraft carries 15 Ku-band transponders to be operated in the 11.7-1
2~5 GHz frequency range. Sirius
3 is expected to be launched on board an Ariane launch vehicle from
Kourou (French Guyana) in October
1998.
SOCIETE EUROPEENNE DES SATELITTES (SES)
SES is the leading European broadcast satellite operator reaching some
42 per cent of all European TV
households. As of the 31st December 1997, of all European households
receiving TV by either satellite or
cable, approximately 70 million (or 93 per cent) received one or more
channels via ASTRA.
SES transmits via the ASTRA Satellite System 99 analogue and digital
television channels and more than
190 analogue and digital radio channels over 120 transponders to 22
European countries.
The ASTRA Satellite System currently comprises six geostationary (GEO)
satellites at the position of 19.20
East - the largest number of satellites colocated at one single orbital
slot. In addition, a seventh GEO
satellite is temporarily located at SES' second orbital position at
28.20 East to permit the launch of satellite
digital services later this year for the UK and Republic of Ireland.
Confirmed public and private SES
customers for digital transmission capacity at 28.20 East include: BBC,
BSkyB, Flextech, Discovery, UKTV,
Viacom and Turner Broadcasting.
As a pioneer of interactive and multimedia services, SES is the majority
shareholder in European Satellite
Multimedia Services (ESM), which operates the ASTRA-NET platform,
enabling service and content
providers to transmit data directly, via satellite, to personal
computers in businesses and homes across
Europe.
SES has four additional satellites under constmction. These are expected
to be launched between 1998
and 2000. Two satellites will provide back up capacity for the system at
19.20 East, enabling SES to
expand and develop its digital and multimedia services as well as expand
its geographic coverage in
Eastern Europe. The other two satellites will be permanently positioned
at 28.20 East, providing digital
services to the UK and Ireland.
The Company's history is characterised by market~riven innovation. SES
was the first European satellite
operator to offer both analogue and digital broadcasting capacity and
services to its clients. SES was also
the first satellite operator worldwide to successfully apply the concept
of co-locating satellites at the same
orbital location (19.20 East) to exploit the entire frequency spectrum
at such orbital location. SES expects to
be the first satellite operator to commercially exploit the Ka-band
frequency for interactive and multimedia
services in Europe through the ASTRA Retum Channel System (ARCS).
Commencing operations in 1999,
ARCS will serve the growing market in Europe for 2-way asymmetric,
high-speed broadband collection and
delivery of multimedia.
SES plans to continue its expansion, both into new geographic regions
and into new services, and through
the purchase of additional satellites, including Next Generation Systems
(Ka-band satellites).
Societe' Europeenne des Satellites Belzoorf Luxembourg
NORDIC SATELLITE COMPANY (NSAB)
In the Nordic region, NSAB provides flexible satellite capacity for
DTHbroadcasting as well as other
transmission services for TV/radio and data, through the Sirius
satellite system - Sirius 1, Sirius 2 and Sirius
3 (to be launched in early October 1998). The satellites cover the
Nordic area, the Baltics, Poland and
Westem Russia with DTH power levels. In addition, NSAB offers
pan-European, digital DTH coverage
through the European Beam of Sirius 2.
The Sirius location at 50 East is a Hot Bird position for Nordic
television viewing with more than 800,000
DTH households tuned in. EIRP-levels of 52-56 dBW throughout the region
allows for small receiver dishes (60 cm), a key factor behind the
significant increase of DTH penetration in these countries during the
recent years.
NSAB performs marketing activities in the region, such as campaigns
directed towards the general public
and/or TV-retail chains, in order to promote DTH television and the 50
East position.
NSAB was established in 1983 and is today owned and operated by Swedish
Space Corporation (37.5%),
Teracom AB (37.5%) and Tele Danmark A/S (25%).
Swedish Space Corporation, owned by the Swedish government, is
responsible for the execution of the
Swedish space programme and for procurement and daily operation of
NSAB's satellites.
Teracom AB, also owned by the Swedish government, is operating a
nation-wide ground network for TV
and Radio broadcasting. Teracom provides uplinking services to the
satellites and assists in the marketing
of NSAB's DTH broadcasting services.
Tele Danmark A/S, with activities in tele and data communications,
cableTV and media is a public
company listed on the Stock Exchange in Copenhagen and New York. Tele
Danmark also provides
uplinking services and assists in the marketing of NSAB's services.
The joint expertise and resources of the owners offers a comprehensive
service in the field of satellite
broadcasting, transmission, uplinking and satellite control, as well as
in the new field of digital TV services -
coding, multiplexing and digital broadcasting.
For the future, NSAB plans to expand its business through coverage of
new geographic regions and
through providing services in the field of business communication and
Intemet.
(C) 1998 Neil Anthony Powell. a service provided by UK Satellite Control
Information is subject to change and/or may be incorrect.
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