SES’s ASTRA 5B Satellite Goes Live

SES S.A. (NYSE Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) announces that the ASTRA 5B satellite went live today at the orbital position of 31.5 degrees East over Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. The spacecraft provides DTH (Direct-to-Home) as well as direct-to-cable services and contribution feeds to digital terrestrial television networks in its target markets.ASTRA 5B was successfully launched by an Ariane 5 rocket from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guyana, on March 22nd, 2014. Since then, the spacecraft has successfully completed a number of in-orbit maneuvers and undergone a series of extensive in-orbit tests to confirm its flawless performance.

ASTRA 5B was built by Airbus Defence and Space Systems in Toulouse, France, based on the highly reliable Eurostar E3000 platform. The satellite is equipped with 40 Ku-band transponders (36 MHz equivalent) and 6 Ka-band transponders. The spacecraft also carries the second SES hosted L-band payload for the European Commission’s European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS). EGNOS helps to verify, improve and report on the reliability and accuracy of positioning signals in Europe.

ASTRA 5B replaces ASTRA 1G at the orbital position of 31.5 degrees East, SES’s new video neighborhood for CEE, Russia and CIS. With ASTRA 5B the available capacity at that SES slot increases from 19 to 40 active transponders. The maneuver illustrates SES’s capabilities to successfully develop new orbital positions using spacecraft that have achieved their primary missions, until the orbital slot is supplemented with fresh, state-of-the-art satellite capacity.

Martin Halliwell, Chief Technology Officer at SES, stated: “In line with our well-defined strategy, ASTRA 5B greatly increases SES’s satellite capacities over CEE, Russia and the CIS. With the Operational Service Date (OSD) of ASTRA 5B, SES has as of today 1,536 active satellite transponders on its global satellite fleet, comprising 55 active spacecraft at 37 orbital slots around the world. We would like to thank our European partners at Airbus Defence and Space Systems and Arianespace for the successful ASTRA 5B mission.”

SES Adds Capcity to Serve Cetel in Africa
CETel has signed a new capacity agreement for service on SES’s NSS-7 satellite located at 20 degrees West.

The 72 MHz capacity utilised by CETel under the new agreement will enable it to extend their global corporate and governmental VSAT networks across Africa, meeting the growing demand in the region.

Headquartered in Germany, CETel is a leading provider of satellite communications solutions with a focus on the Middle East, Africa and Europe, offering tailored end-to-end communication solutions and services, including GSM backhaul services, for customers around the world. CETel designs and implements solutions individually adapted to the specific requirements of their customers, such as oil, gas & mining companies and NGO missions.

“Demand for satellite capacity in Africa has been increasing in the last few years, and SES, with its global expertise and extensive satellite fleet, has been a reliable partner for us in meeting this demand,” said Guido Neumann, Managing Director of CETel. “This latest capacity agreement further enables us to provide tailored solutions and seamless services to our customers in Africa.”

“CETel has been one of our fastest growing European customers since they launched their first service with SES on NSS-12 back in 2008. We are particularly delighted to announce this latest agreement, as it further reinforces our long-standing partnership with them and is a testament to the reliability of NSS-7’s high-powered capabilities for C-band coverage of Africa,” said Simon Gatty Saunt, Vice President of Data & Mobility services at SES.