Mexico SES Affiliate To Expand Satellite Services with EchoStar

Global satellite operator SES S.A. has announced that its affiliate Sistemas Satelitales de México (SSM) has received approval from the Mexican government to offer Ku-band satellite capacity into Mexico from its AMC-15 and AMC-16 satellites. EchoStar Satellite Services (a subsidiary of EchoStar Corp.) has acquired the rights to use this capacity from SES and now plans to offer full-time and occasional use space segment to authorized entities in Mexico through SSM.

The authorizations to use the Ku-band spectrum at these orbital positions for fixed satellite services (FSS) were recently granted by the Mexican government to SSM.

Today, AMC-15 and AMC-16 are used primarily by enterprise customers in the United States. Positioned at 105 degrees West Longitude and at 85 degrees West Longitude, respectively, AMC-15 and AMC-16 can transmit video, audio, or data with full coverage of Mexico and the United States.

“This initiative brings together the strengths of SES and EchoStar in extending the reach and capability of AMC-15 and AMC-16 to accommodate new growth markets, as well as the experience of SSM in the Mexican market,” says Rob Bednarek, president and CEO of SES World Skies.

Also, upon launch in 2011, EchoStar is expected to use capacity on QuetzSat’s QuetzSat-1, a high power communications satellite to be located at 77 degrees West Longitude, with coverage of Mexico and North America. EchoStar intends to use QuetzSat-1 for broadcast services for the Dish Mexico direct-to-home service in Mexico and for the DISH Network direct-to-home service in the United States.

“With SSM’s receipt of the authorizations from SCT and COFETEL to offer services into Mexico, EchoStar will be able to serve a growing regional demand for satellite services,” says Dean Olmstead, president of EchoStar Satellite Services. “EchoStar is well positioned to leverage its satellite operations and uplink expertise in the U.S. to expand its fixed satellite services throughout Mexico, including the delivery of satellite Internet services to rural communities.”