Intelsat 25 Enters Service, Expanding Intelsat's African Satellite Infrastructure
IntelsatOneSM Terrestrial Architecture will Deliver Fully Integrated Transmission Solutions for Customers Serving Africa
Luxembourg, 12 April 2010
Intelsat S.A., the world’s leading provider of fixed satellite services, continues to support the growth requirements of its African wireless operators, broadband service providers and media customers.
Offering New Capacity to the Region via Intelsat 25 and Intelsat New Dawn
To address the customer demand for new capacity in Africa, Intelsat acquired the ProtoStar 1 satellite, which was renamed Intelsat 25 (IS-25), late last year and repositioned it to 328.5° E. IS-25 commenced service last week and offers C- and Ku-band coverage of a substantial portion of Africa. IS-25 provides capacity for high growth applications that include cellular backhaul for expansion services to remote locations; IP Trunking for robust Internet connectivity; and video services for programming.
The Intelsat New Dawn satellite currently scheduled to be launched this year is expected to join IS-25, and will bring the number of satellites within Intelsat’s fleet that serve Africa to 25.
Expanding Broadband Services through IntelsatOneSM
Broadband service providers continue to require enhanced connectivity solutions. Intelsat’s new terrestrial architecture, IntelsatOne, which consists of an IP/MPLS-based network, teleports and points of presence, provides customers a single source for converged data, voice and video solutions. MTN Business, a provider of mobile and Internet-based communications services, will utilize IntelsatOne through its multi-year contract that includes teleport services and hosting of its DVB-S2 platform in addition to capacity on the Intelsat 905 satellite, located at 335.5° E. With this service, MTN Business will offer corporate network connectivity to its enterprise customers needing to connect offices across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Angola-based MSTelcom signed a multi-year, multi-transponder contract on the Intelsat 1R satellite, located at 310° E, for transmissions for its customers serving the oil and gas, banking and mining industries. Gateway Communications, a provider of pan-African network services, expanded its pre-launch commitment, signing another multi-transponder contract for Ku-band capacity on the Intelsat New Dawn satellite, to be located at 33° E, for corporate networking services offered by its parent, South Africa’s Vodacom.
Transmitting the Soccer Championships to the World
Intelsat will provide more than 700 MHz of satellite capacity on as many as seven satellites within its global fleet for transmission services of the 2010 soccer championship. Rights-holding and non-rights-holding broadcasters will utilize Intelsat capacity to distribute the matches from South Africa to a global audience. In addition, Intelsat will combine this space segment with the IntelsatOne network of teleports, fiber and points of presence, offering end-to-end managed solutions. Services will include:
- Tape play-out, live shot and transmission services from event locations in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban
- Live shot locations for non-rights holders at Ellis Park and Soccer City
- Broadcast and location consultation services
- In-country satellite newsgathering services
- Managed platforms for encoding, multiplexing and compression equipment in High Definition and Standard Definition
Intelsat will be exhibiting at SatCom Africa 2010 and at NAB 2010 April 12-15 in Johannesburg, South Africa and Las Vegas, Nevada, respectively. Visit Intelsat at booth # 9 at SatCom and booth # SU1417 at NAB, or www.intelsat.com.
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
Intelsat Safe Harbor Statement
Some of the statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements" that do not directly or exclusively relate to historical facts. The forward-looking statements made in this release reflect Intelsat's intentions, plans, expectations, assumptions and beliefs about future events and are subject to risks, including known and unknown risks. Detailed information about some of the known risks is included in Intelsat's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended 31 December 2009 and Intelsat's other periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Because actual results could differ materially from Intelsat's intentions, plans, expectations, assumptions and beliefs about the future, you are urged to view all forward-looking statements contained in this news release with caution. Intelsat does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
