NEWSLETTERS

French-speaking Belgium gets its first satellite television platform, Télésat

January 19, 2009, marks a symbolic date in the Francophone Belgian audiovisual landscape with the launch of Télésat, the first satellite TV package for French-speaking Belgium. Announced by Airfield Media Group barely one year ago, the Télésat platform technically launched on 8 December 2008 at the HOT BIRD™ video neighbourhood, before opening its services to the public on 19 January. Télésat is the French-speaking counterpart to Airfield Media Group’s TV Vlaanderen, the digital satellite platform for Flemish-speaking Belgium which launched in 2006 and already has over 75 000 subscribers. Another first for Wallonia is that Télésat is one of the first television platforms in the world to broadcast its programmes in MPEG 4. Télésat labeled set-top-boxes are HD-Ready and enable subscribers to watch programmes broadcast in high definition.

Maximising on the diversity of satellite TV in Europe, the Télésat set-top-box provides access to over 800 television channels both free-to-air and by subscription, bringing together an exceptional variety of programmes including European public service channels, channels from RTL and AB Groupe, and CNN, CNBC, 2M Morocco, Al-Jazeerah, Disney Channel, TV 5, France 24, EuroNews, Russia Today, and the HD version of Arte. In addition to a wide range of programmes, Télésat’s launch campaign highlights its convenient “roaming” feature as the Smartcard can be used in any terminal in the home or holiday home.

Eutelsat is providing Télésat with turnkey signal processing from its teleport in Rambouillet (near Paris), in addition to the lease of satellite capacity. Before being uplinked to Eutelsat’s HOT BIRD™ 7A satellite, the channels, encrypted in Mediaguard 3 Nagravision at Télésat’s studios, are aggregated in a multiplex operated by Eutelsat which includes channels from RTBF Sat, France 24 and Eurosport.

For more information: www.telesat.be

BIS TV boosts channel line-up and launches new offer for hotels and communal residences

French broadcaster AB Groupe has increased the number of channels available on BIS TV, its pay-TV platform. Since end 2008, four new channels have been added to the basic “Panorama” offer. The French national channel M6 and the entertainment channel W9 were added at the end of December, followed in early January by two thematic channels, Encylopédia and Animaux. This takes BIS TV's basic offer to 30 channels with additional options including access to movie channels. Subscriptions start at €4.90 per month and go up to €17.90 per month.

AB Groupe has also recently developed an offer called “BIS TV Collectivités” for hotels and communal residences including hospitals and retirement homes. The new service was officially launched at the international Equip Hotel trade exhibition in Paris in November as an alternative or complementary choice to existing offers. Delivering cost-effective content to the French hospitality market, BIS TV Collectivités offers communal residences all the national channels, the best of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) channels, and a wide selection of thematic channels. A decreasing tariff system makes the offer adaptable whatever the size of the institution, and the service can be implemented on any television distribution system whether analogue, digital or IPTV network.

BIS TV is broadcast from Eutelsat’s two key video neighbourhoods serving France, the HOT BIRD™ neighbourhood at 13 degrees East and the ATLANTIC BIRD™ 3 satellite at 5 degrees West. The HOT BIRD™ satellites broadcast nearly 500 free-to-air channels, offering antennas pointed to 13 degrees East the possibility to also receive the largest range of in-the-clear content broadcast by satellite in Europe.

For more information: www.bis.tv

Telespazio leases capacity for RAI channels at the HOT BIRD™ video neighbourhood

Telespazio, a Finmeccanica/Thales company, has leased capacity to 2020 at Eutelsat’s 13° East HOT BIRD™ video neighbourhood. The agreement concerns the lease of two transponders for broadcasting a wide range of television and radio channels produced by RAI, Italy’s national public broadcaster.  Currently broadcasting via HOT BIRD™ 8, the RAI channels will transfer to Eutelsat’s new HOT BIRD™ 9 satellite when it begins commercial service at 13° East next month following its successful launch on 20 December 2008.

The two transponders will assume broadcasting of RAI’s flagship national channels, RAI Uno, Rai Due and Rai Tre in addition to seven thematic channels (Rai News 24, Rai Sport piu’, Rai Gulp, Rai Med, Sat 2000, Senato TV, Camera dei Deputati) and four educational channels (Rai Edu 1 and 2, Rai Nettuno Sat Uno, Rai Nettuno Sat Due). The capacity will also serve to transmit RAI’s eleven radio stations. All channels can be received by more than seven million Italian homes equipped for Direct-to-Home reception of Eutelsat’s HOT BIRD™ satellites. The capacity is also used to deliver a number of RAI’s channels to cable head-ends across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East within the footprint of the HOT BIRD™ satellites.

For more information please see our press release

Al-Jazeerah Children’s Channel launches Baraem, an Arabic pre-school channel for 3 to 6 year olds

Al-Jazeerah Children’s Channel has chosen Eutelsat’s HOT BIRD™ video neighbourhood to launch Baraem, a new channel for pre-school children. Under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned, Consort of the Amir and Chairperson of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, the first pan-Arabic pre-school channel officially went on-air on January 16, from its headquarters in Qatar. Baraem, meaning ' bud' in English, brings together a colourful programme for pre-school viewers, with music, stories, songs and games. The channel aims "to achieve a conscientious media environment for the Arab youth and child" said Mahmoud Bouned, Executive General Manager of Al-Jazeerah Children’s Channel.

Baraem currently produces 15% of its programme line-up, the rest of the content being purchased from international production houses. The channel plans to follow the same editorial policy as Al-Jazeerah Children’s Channel which is to confirm the Arabic identity of its content by eventually producing more than half of its programmes. The specialised pre-school channel broadcasts free-to-air 17 hours a day.

Where to find Baraem:
HOT BIRD™ 6 at 13° East
Frequency: 12.558 GHz
Polarisation: Vertical

For more information www.baraem.tv

Eutelsat’s KabelKiosk digital cable platform records dynamic growth to 110 channels and over 200 000 subscribers

Eutelsat’s German subsidiary, Eutelsat Deutschland, announced at its annual New Year reception in Berlin that its KabelKiosk digital cable platform reported its most successful year in 2008. Over 200,000 homes now subscribe to its comprehensive offer of channels and services which increased from 70 to 110 over the last 12 months. By offering a multiplicity of new channels and innovative services, KabelKiosk is the centrepiece of Eutelsat's objective to support the transition of cable markets in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark and Luxembourg from analogue to digital. Independent cable operators already partnering with Eutelsat Deutschland to accelerate the switch to digital include TeleColumbus, one of Germany's three largest cable companies.

www.kabelkiosk.de

Eutelsat and SpeedCast team with Furuno for satellite-based communications at sea in Ku-band

Eutelsat and SpeedCast have partnered with Furuno, one of the leading companies in the maritime equipment and service sectors. The two companies will provide their innovative seamless Auto Beam Switching (ABS) Ku-band broadband maritime service, satellite capacity and teleport services to support Furuno’s new “SafeComNet“ service which provides maritime fleets with seamless communications across all major shipping lanes and regions covered by Ku-band satellites.

Furuno’s SafeComNet service principally targets operators of merchant shipping and fishing fleets who want to integrate enhanced on-board applications in order to optimise productivity and improve crew welfare. The satellite-based broadband service will enable secure offshore Virtual Private Networks to be established with land-based offices so that a ship in effect becomes a mobile office fully integrated into an overall network. Additional services to crew, including Internet access, email, GSM connectivity, Video-on-Demand and IPTV services could be carried through the same satellite broadband connection.

The new service will serve key shipping routes using Ku-band capacity, principally on Eutelsat and AsiaSat satellites. In addition to a fixed fee per ship, irrespective of usage, the use of one-metre stabilised satellite antennas marks a major innovation. Compared with 2.4 metre C-band systems, Ku-band antennas will reduce equipment costs by more than 50% and space occupied on deck by more than 60%.

For more information please see our press release.

EURALIS, a cooperative of 15 000 farmers, chooses Tooway™ to deliver satellite broadband Internet to members

Sat2Way, a distributor of Eutelsat’s satellite broadband Internet service Tooway™, has signed an agreement with Euralis, the leading prepared-foods cooperative in South-West France, enabling members who are unable to receive ADSL to have access to the benefits of broadband. Euralis represents 15 000 farmers, 3 000 of whom have farms located beyond the range of broadband terrestrial networks. Broadband access is vital for the agricultural profession today, with farmers conducting multiple administrative formalities via Internet. They can also consult the latest prices for cereals and raw materials while online and access the Euralis Group’s extranet.

Maxime Tucou (Euralis Extranet Manager): “We want to modernise our relations and information exchanges with our members by making full use of the Internet. We were faced with a situation where members were under-equipped, because their farms were isolated. The agreement with Sat2Way lets us equip all our farmers with broadband Internet access at no extra cost compared to a traditional terrestrial Internet connection. This is a major step forward for our members.”

Tooway™ is Eutelsat’s new-generation two-way satellite Internet service, available in Ka-band via the HOT BIRD™ 6 satellite and Ku-band via the EUROBIRD™ 3 satellite. With download speeds of 2 Mbps, Tooway™ is the most advanced satellite-based solution on the market today, with prices comparable to ADSL. In 2010, Eutelsat’s KA-SAT satellite will operate over 80 beams in Ka-band, to serve as many as 1 million users and deliver speeds up to 10 Mbps per terminal.

Sat2way is a leading satellite broadband service company in France, for small businesses and private individuals located beyond the reach of ADSL and cable networks.

For more information: www.euralis.fr, www.sat2way.com, www.tooway.com.

France 2025, preparing for tomorrow today

Eutelsat Communications is a partner of the "France 2025, preparing for tomorrow today" exhibition which takes place at the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie museum in Paris, from 14 January to 15 March 2009. Organised following the France 2025 report commissioned by French Prime Minister François Fillon from Eric Besson, Junior Minister for Planning, Assessment of Public Policies and Development of the Digital Economy, the exhibition looks at innovative approaches taken by French companies to improve quality of life.

Eutelsat’s theme for the exhibition is "Giving people the speeds they need while respecting the planet". Satellites play a key role in our lives, whether it’s enabling broadband access for everyone, increasing professional employment in less advantaged regions, or promoting cultural diversity by relaying signals from television stations worldwide. Through videos, presentations and full-scale models of satellites and their components, Eutelsat is offering visitors the chance to get closer to this technology, and understand more on the workings of satellites, which discreetly carry out their mission 36 000 km above us. Emphasis is placed on technological innovation, with two examples in particular, the opening of the first European S-band resources in 2009 which will accompany the deployment of TV services to mobiles and communications for vehicles, and the launch in 2010 of the first European multibeam Ka-band satellite which will revolutionise access to broadband services for the general public.

For more information: www.cite-sciences.fr/francais/ala_cite/evenements/france-2025/.