Etisalat Secures Capacity on Intelsat 15 to Expand Broadband Services in the Middle East

Luxembourg, 17 December 2009

Intelsat, S.A., the world’s leading provider of fixed satellite services, announced that Etisalat UAE has signed a multi-year capacity contract on Intelsat’s recently launched Intelsat 15 satellite (IS-15), located at 85º E. Etisalat will utilize this capacity to expand its network platform beyond the United Arab Emirates and provide higher-bandwidth broadband services to its enterprise customers throughout the Gulf region.

“Etisalat is the leading provider of connectivity in the Middle East. This is due to our investment in satellite coverage, alliances with strategic global partners and our investment in international cable systems. This agreement with Intelsat will enhance the service that we are able to provide all of our customers, especially those located in areas where it is not possible either to deploy or maintain a terrestrial network,” said Ali Amiri, Executive Vice President, Carrier and Wholesale Services, Etisalat. “IS-15 provides us with the Ku-band coverage that will further enhance our already market-leading and reliable network for our enterprise clients in the banking, energy, financial services, hospitality, retail and transport sectors.”

“IS-15 will have a satellite footprint that covers the majority of the Middle East and Russia, making it an ideal spacecraft for delivering broadband, enterprise and video services to these regions,” said Jean-Philippe Gillet, Intelsat’s Regional Vice President, Europe and Middle East. “By 2012, IS-15 will be joined by three additional Intelsat satellites—Intelsat 17, Intelsat 20 and Intelsat 22—that will offer incremental capacity to enable our customers to deploy more sought after applications.”

IS-15, launched 30 November, is expected to go into service in the first quarter of 2010. Once on station, IS-15 will replace the Intelsat 709 satellite, and IS-15’s high power Ku-band payload will serve the Middle East, Russia and the Indian Ocean region. Customers will use IS-15’s capacity to distribute high growth applications that include cellular backhaul for wireless communications to remote locations; broadband networks for enterprise applications; IP Trunking for robust Internet connectivity; and video services for DTH programming.

About Etisalat

Etisalat, a leading telecommunications services provider in the Middle East delivering voice and data network services, has operations in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sudan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Indonesia, India, Nigeria, Benin, Niger, Gabon, Burkina Faso, Togo, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Tanzania and most recently Sri Lanka. Etisalat offers its customers a full range of telecommunication services and solutions including mobile, fixed-line telephony, Internet, cable TV services to businesses, government and other telecom companies. Etisalat has currently the largest international roaming network in the region with more than 520 operators around the world covering more than 190 countries.

About Intelsat

Intelsat is the leading provider of fixed satellite services worldwide. For over 45 years, Intelsat has been delivering information and entertainment for many of the world’s leading media and network companies, multinational corporations, Internet Service Providers and governmental agencies. Intelsat’s satellite, teleport and fiber infrastructure is unmatched in the industry, setting the standard for transmissions of video, data and voice services. From the globalization of content and the proliferation of HD, to the expansion of cellular networks and broadband access, with Intelsat, advanced communications anywhere in the world are closer, by far.

Contact

Nick Mitsis
Intelsat
nick.mitsis@intelsat.com
+1 202 944 7044

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