P
R/13/12

European Union TV service, Europe by Satellite, expands satellite reach with switch to EUTELSAT 9A

Paris, 1 March 2012 - EbS and EbS+, the European Union's TV information services have moved their satellite services to the EUTELSAT 9A satellite (ex. EUROBIRD 9A) operated by Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL). The two channels are uplinked from today to EUTELSAT 9A by P&TLuxembourg whose services were selected following an open call for tender by the European Commission.

EbS and EbS+ are a unique source of EU-related broadcast material for media professionals. Programming comprises live events from the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers and other institutions, plus news items and stockshots on EU policies and issues.

With the move to 9° East, both services will benefit from the broad footprint of EUTELSAT 9A which sweeps across Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and into European parts of the Russian Federation.

Signals, broadcast free-to-air, are also upgraded to DVB S2 and MPEG4 with audio channels encoded using AAC-HE. The combination of DVB-S2 and MPEG4 was chosen to take advantage of the most advanced and bandwidth-efficient coding techniques in use on Eutelsat platforms.

How to receive EbS:
EUTELSAT 9A AT 9° East
Downlink frequency 11900.01
Horizontal polarisation

About Eutelsat Communications

Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234) is the holding company of Eutelsat S.A.. With capacity commercialised on 28 satellites that provide coverage over the entire European continent, as well as the Middle East, Africa, India and significant parts of Asia and the Americas, Eutelsat is one of the world's three leading satellite operators in terms of revenues. As of 31 December 2011, Eutelsat’s satellites were broadcasting more than 4,000 television channels. They also serve a wide range of fixed and mobile telecommunications services, TV contribution markets, corporate networks, and broadband markets for Internet Service Providers and for transport, maritime and in-flight markets. Eutelsat's broadband subsidiary, Skylogic, markets and operates access to high speed internet services through teleports in France and Italy that serve enterprises, local communities, government agencies and aid organisations in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. Headquartered in Paris, Eutelsat and its subsidiaries employ just over 700 commercial, technical and operational professionals from 30 countries.www.eutelsat.com