PRESS RELEASES :: 2003

Eutelsat announces official sponsorship of the XXth Winter Olympics in Torino in 2006

Private satellite network managed by Eutelsat will enable the Olympic community to follow live coverage of the Games and broadcasts by leading international channels

Paris, 16 December 2003
As Europe’s leading satellite operator, Eutelsat today announced its Official Sponsorship of the XXth Winter Olympics in Torino 2006. Within the framework of this partnership Eutelsat will also provide the TOROC (the Torino Organising Committee of the XXth Winter Olympics) with a package of 50 video channels that will be broadcast for the duration of the Games to competition sites, Olympic Villages and Media Villages. This will enable the Olympic community to benefit from live events coverage and to access broadcasts by leading international television channels.

Eutelsat leads bid with LogicaCMG, Hispasat and AENA for Galileo concession

Paris, 5 December 2003
Eutelsat today announced that it has submitted a bid to the Galileo Joint Undertaking, together with LogicaCMG, Hispasat and AENA (Aeropuertos Españoles y Navegación Aérea) to run the Galileo Concession. The Galileo Joint Undertaking is managing the European Union project to develop a new advanced satellite navigation system on behalf of the European Commission (EC) and the European Space Agency (ESA). The bid responds to the first call for pre-selection for the Galileo Concession.

Eutelsat broadcasts key events of the World Electronic Media Forum through HOT BIRD™ 6 Eutelsat official partner of the WEMF event to be held in parallel to the World Summit on the Information Society Geneva, December 9-12 Paris, 4 December 2003 Eutelsat today announced that the key sessions of the first World Electronic Media Forum (WEMF) will be broadcast live and free-to-air through its HOT BIRD™ 6 satellite that serves television homes throughout Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. The WEMF is being held in Geneva from December 9 to 12 in parallel to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

CEO Giuliano Berretta (left) and the President of the WEMF Association and Secretary General of the EBU, Jean Stock.

Organised by the United Nations Department of Public Information (UNDPI), the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Switzerland as host country to the Summit, the WEMF is a platform for television and radio broadcasters and the global viewing/listening public to assess current and future opportunities of media in the Information Society, with particular reference to the key role of media and television, universal access to information, freedom of expression, cultural diversity, economic development, social cohesion and education.

Eutelsat hosts meeting of D-STAR international
distributor network in Paris.
Eutelsat outlines its broadband objectives for supporting the roll-out of satellite 2-way broadband services in Europe, Middle East and Africa

Paris, 26 November 2003
Eutelsat this month held the first convention of distributors of its D-STAR broadband service at its Paris headquarters in order to present the roadmap for two-way satellite broadband in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

The objective of the meeting was to brief distributors on the roll-out of satellite broadband that is attracting an increasing number of businesses located beyond ADSL broadband solutions who have requirements for high-speed Internet access and other broadband services.

HOT BIRD™ TV Awards 2003:

Recognises excellence of thematic satellite broadcasting in Europe

Paris, Venice 3 October 2003
The winners of the sixth HOT BIRD™ TV AWARDS were today announced at a ceremony in Venice. Organised by Eutelsat and Eurovisioni, and sponsored by Alcatel Space, Arianespace and Astrium, the HOT BIRD™ TV Awards is an annual event to recognise the excellence of satellite broadcasting of thematic television. The winners were selected by a jury* of European television journalists who met last month in Rome to view a record 120 thematic channels broadcasting in 13 languages separated into eight categories: News, Cinema & Fiction, Culture, Documentaries, Kids, Music, Sport, and Various

CapRock and Eutelsat Team Up to Deliver Satellite-Based
Telecommunications Solutions to a Wide Range of Customers

Washington, DC - September 29, 2003
Eutelsat, Inc., Eutelsat's U.S. subsidiary, announces that its SESAT satellite has been selected by CapRock Communications, the leading satellite communications provider for customers in extreme locations, to deliver integrated network solutions to CapRock's global drilling, shipping, chemical, cruise line, natural resource production and government customers.

e-BIRD™, the first satellite designed for Internet broadband lofted into orbit for Eutelsat.
Eutelsat's new satellite marks a milestone for building broadband in Europe

Paris, Kourou, September 27, 2003
Eutelsat announces the successful launch of e-BIRD™ the first satellite in the world specially designed for two-way broadband communications. Built by Boeing Satellite Systems, e-BIRD™ was launched by an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana during the night of September 27 to 28 at 23.14 GMT (01.14 Paris time). After a series of in-orbit tests, the satellite will enter service in November at 33 degrees East in order to provide coverage of Europe and Turkey.

Eutelsat awards contract for HOT BIRD™ 8 broadcast satellite to EADS ASTRIUM

Paris, September 12, 2003
Eutelsat and EADS ASTRIUM today announced the signature of a contract for the construction the HOT BIRD™ 8 broadcast satellite which will be launched in early 2006 by Arianespace on-board an Ariane 5 rocket.

With 64 transponders that can be operated simultaneously, of which 58 transponders will operate at full power for most of the satellite's lifetime, HOT BIRD™ 8 is the largest satellite yet ordered by Eutelsat. It will join the company's constellation of HOT BIRD™ broadcasting satellites at 13 degrees East that provide television, radio and interactive services to almost 100 million cable and satellite homes in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

Locatel switches to satellite for digital delivery of its video rental films

Paris, 1 September 2003
Locatel, France’s leading integrator of audiovisual and multimedia technology solutions, and Eutelsat SA, one of the world’s leading satellite operators, wish to announce that a distribution contract has been signed for the digital delivery of video rental films by satellite to Locatel’s customer hotels. In switching to a direct satellite link-up into the local servers of the hotels, Locatel has two objectives: to simplify the delivery process and to enhance the range of titles it offers for rental.

Locatel, which currently reaches 135 000 hotel rooms and 70 000 hospital beds, provides the equipment for its customers to access a wide range of audiovisual and multimedia services.

Eutelsat participates at the 60th Venice International Film Festival to support development of HDTV and e-Cinema

Paris, August 27, 2003
Through the provision of satellite capacity for a high-definition television broadcast during this year's Venice Film Festival, Eutelsat is reaffirming its commitment to the development of HDTV and e-cinema for both the broadcast and cinema industries.

A broadcast filmed in HDTV by the European Space Agency (ESA) will be transmitted on August 30 through Eutelsat's ATLANTIC BIRD™ 1 satellite during a Seminar of the Ministries of Culture of the European Union to discuss opportunities and challenges emerging from new technologies for European cinema and in the battle against piracy. The HDTV broadcast, which will include contributions of electronic cinema files, will be uplinked from ESA's ESRIN establishment in Frascati, near Rome, to ATLANTIC BIRD™1. It will be received in Venice at the Palazzo Labia where the European Union Ministries of Culture are meeting, and in the Sala Volpi for the public of the Venice Film Festival.

Connexion by Boeing(sm) selects Eutelsat for in-flight Satellite Connectivity

Seattle / Paris, August 26, 2003
Connexion by Boeing, a business unit of The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA), has signed a contract with Eutelsat for satellite transponder capacity for Connexion by Boeing's mobile broadband information services. The provision of transponder capacity covering key areas of Europe and Asia provides additional momentum for the full-scale introduction of high-speed connectivity for airlines and passengers seeking real-time access to email, company intranets, the World Wide Web and entertainment content in flight.

Launch of Eutelsat's e-BIRD™ satellite

Paris, August 21, 2003
Following the announcement by Arianespace of a further delay to flight V162, Eutelsat deplores this new postponement and the consequent delay to the launch of its e-BIRD™ satellite which is dedicated to broadband services. Eutelsat confirms that the satellite is in excellent condition at the Kourou Space Port and perfectly ready for launch.

Built by Boeing Satellite Systems, the e-BIRD™ satellite has been available for several months and waiting for the Ariane launch programme to resume. The spacecraft arrived at the Kourou Space Port on August 1 for a launch which was initially scheduled for August 28 on an Ariane 5 rocket. Arianespace has explained that this new delay is due to a request for additional checks on another satellite to be launched on the same mission as Eutelsat's e-BIRD™ satellite.

Launch of the HOT BIRD™ TV Awards 2003.
6TH Edition of the Awards for the Best Thematic TV Channels Broadcast on Eutelsat Channels

Paris, August 11, 2003

Eutelsat and Eurovisioni, the international festival of cinema and television, today announced the schedule for the HOT BIRD™ TV Awards 2003. Initiated by Eutelsat and Eurovisioni in 1998, the objective of the HOT BIRD™ TV Awards is to acknowledge the role of thematic television in today's broadcasting environment and to recognise the quality of thematic programming broadcast via Eutelsat's satellites. The winners are selected by a panel of media specialists from major publications Europe.

Eutelsat selects Alcatel to build HOT BIRD™ 7A

Paris, July 28, 2003

Alcatel Space, a subsidiary of Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) and Eutelsat S.A., one of the world's leading satellite operators, today announced the signature of a contract for the construction of the HOT BIRD™ 7A communications satellite. The order for this new satellite follows the loss of HOT BIRD™ 7 during launch last December. In addition to the original specifications, HOT BIRD™ 7A's mission has been expanded to provide additional back-up and replacement capacity at Eutelsat's key orbital slot, 13 degrees East, the world's leading neighbourhood for satellite television broadcasting. This expanded mission has led to the choice of a larger, more flexible satellite platform than for the original version..

Eutelsat takes satellite broadband and Wi-Fi to new heights for the 100th Tour de France at Alpe d'Huez

Eutelsat combines two-way satellite broadband with
Wi-Fi for wireless Internet access at an altitude of
over 1,800 metres

Paris, 11 July 2003

Six PCs have been installed at the Alpe d'Huez Tourist Office, 'le Sporting' restaurant and the ski resort's Internet Café. Eutelsat's D-Star service is being used to provide a two-way satellite broadband connection at 2 Mbps with no need for a connection to a local terrestrial network. A similar system was successfully demonstrated during the winter season at 'Les Marmottes' restaurant at 2,400 metres in the French Alps, allowing locals and skiers to surf the web at the highest altitude in France.

Eutelsat presents SKYPLEX DATA for cost-effective and
high-performance broadband networks in Europe

SKYPLEX DATA marks world first by combining on-board multiplexing and processing with Ka-band frequencies on Eutelsat's HOT BIRD™ 6 satellite

Paris, June 27, 2003

Eutelsat, Europe's leading satellite operator, today unveiled an innovative new service called SKYPLEX DATA which will enable small transmit/receive terminals to be used for cost-effective meshed networks in Europe supporting a range of television, data and audio applications. The service was demonstrated today in Italy through three terminals used for fast file transfer and videoconferencing.

Tiscali and Eutelsat partner to provide pan-European broadband Internet access via satellite

Paris, Milan, May 13th, 2003

Tiscali, the European Internet Communication Company, and Eutelsat, Europe's leading satellite operator, today announced a partnership agreement whereby Tiscali will provide its European subscribers with one-way Satellite Fast Internet Access through Eutelsat's OPENSKY™ platform.

Thanks to this agreement, Tiscali will widen its satellite product portfolio with the one-way satellite Internet service catered for a wider audience both in terms of functionality and pricing. This new offer follows the two-way satellite broadband Internet service developed for high-skilled business users, which Tiscali launched as one of the first operators in Europe.

Eutelsat and Globecast launch a new ATLANTIC BIRD™ 3 broadcast and IP platform in New York for
Transatlantic services

Paris, 4 April, 2003

Eutelsat S.A. and GlobeCast today announced that they have signed an agreement to jointly market the first ATLANTIC BIRD™ 3 broadcast and IP gateway at GlobeCast's New York teleport and broadcast centre in Staten Island. The platform will use capacity on Eutelsat's new satellite that provides unparalleled coverage from North America into Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

The new platform provides a unique transatlantic gateway for video broadcasting and IP content distribution. It will enable small antennas to be used for corporate network distribution and for reception of television channels at cable headends as well as direct-to-home reception. The platform is also equipped with IP encapsulation capability for IP connectivity.

Eutelsat inaugurates new Italian teleport for broadband services
New satellite infrastructure brings broadband solutions
direct to users in the heart of Europe

Paris, March 21, 2003

Eutelsat has officially inaugurated its new multimedia platform in Turin, Italy. Commercialised by Skylogic Italia, Eutelsat's Turin-based subsidiary, the platform is equipped for providing a full range of value-added broadband services for businesses, public administrations, service and content providers.

The new teleport facility, based in the city of Turin in north-west Italy, is connected to the Internet backbone through one of Italy's largest Internet nodes. It is operated in collaboration with Euphon, a leading international production and multimedia company that offers audiovisual facilities and production and post-production services for broadcasters and corporate users.

From Europe to Australia in one hop
Eutelsat's W5 satellite delivers live coverage of Australia's Formula 1 Grand Prix from Melbourne to Europe

Paris, March 12, 2003

With a live broadcast of the Formula 1 Grand Prix from Melbourne to Europe Eutelsat's new W5 satellite has officially extended the company's reach into Australia as far as the south-east coast.

The transmission was conducted for the German pay-TV platform Premiere that broadcasts to cable and satellite homes in Germany and Austria. MTI, which provides broadcasting services to Premiere, uplinked four digital signals direct from the Melbourne Grand Prix with a flyaway antenna site to its teleport in Munich (Germany). The four signals, offering a choice of camera angles, were inserted into Premiere's programming for live viewing.

Eutelsat announces headline results of cable and satellite survey

104.8 million homes in Europe, North Africa, Middle East receive channels broadcast through Eutelsat's HOT BIRD™ satellites and EUROBIRD™1, representing 80% penetration

Result Highlights

• 43% of all TV homes in 38 countries surveyed are now equipped for cable or satellite (direct-to-home/community) reception (132 million homes compared with 122 million in 2001) showing a growth rate of 7% in the last 12 months.
• For the second consecutive year, direct satellite reception (DTH and community) progressed five times faster than cable.
• From June 2001 to Sept. 2002 digital cable and satellite reception increased by 26% in western and eastern Europe (to 28.9 million)
• 23.3 million homes now subscribe to digital pay-TV in western and eastern Europe (17% increase between 2001 and 2002)
• 52% of cable/satellite homes have a PC (23% growth between June 2001 and Sept. 2002). 37% have Internet access (41% growth between June 2001 and Sept. 2002).
  

Paris, February 17, 2003

Eutelsat S.A., one of the world's largest satellite operators and the main capacity provider for TV and radio broadcasting in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East today announced the headline results of its 2003 Survey on cable and satellite reception.

Set up in 1994, the key objective of Eutelsat's Survey is to measure the growth of four indicators in broadcasting: type of reception (cable or satellite), ratio between analogue and digital reception, pay-TV take-up and the use of PCs and Internet access in TV homes as a result of the increase in interactive services and video and audio through the Internet.

Boeing selects Eutelsat satellites for in-flight Internet connectivity demonstration

Paris, February 10, 2003

Eutelsat satellite capacity has been selected by Connexion by Boeing, a business unit of Boeing (NYSE: BA), for a three-month demonstration of in-flight broadband Internet access
for passengers flying between Frankfurt and Washington D.C.

Passengers on board a Lufthansa German Airlines Boeing 747-400 are currently able to use their personal laptops and ones provided by the airline for high-speed connections to the Internet, including full access to their personal or business email accounts and files. They are able to attach files to their outgoing emails or open attachments from incoming emails, get the latest news, look up information about their destination or shop online. The new service, which Lufthansa has branded as FlyNet, operates through the Connexion by Boeing system developed by The Boeing Company.

Eutelsat satellites used for broadband communications and real-time transmission of data on volcanic activity on Stromboli

Paris, January 10, 2003

Eutelsat, one of the world’s leading satellite operators, together with Italian service provider Alltel have installed a network of satellite terminals for Italy’s Civil Protection Agency on Stromboli which is experiencing strong volcanic activity.

The satellite installations have been set up to ensure civil protection workers on the island of Stromboli have immediate access to a full set of communications links. They are also being used for remote monitoring of Stromboli’s volcanic activity and changes in sea levels as part of an early warning system for landslides and tidal waves.