Russian Satellite Communications Company and Eutelsat Communications Announce the Signature of a Memorandum of Understanding for a New Satellite to Drive Expansion at 36 Degrees East

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May 10, 2011, 06:22 ET

MOSCOW and PARIS, May 10, 2011 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC), Russia's state satellite operator, and Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) today announced the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will expand their longstanding strategic partnership in satellite communications.

According to the MOU, a new satellite will be launched in 2015 to 36 degrees East, the most popular neighbourhood for satellite TV in Russia. The new spacecraft will be designed to optimise capacity at a multi-satellite position, delivering new resources to both RSCC and Eutelsat for consumer broadcasting and multimedia services within a footprint of European Russia to the Urals. It will also carry a payload with a footprint over sub-Saharan Africa to provide long-term continuity for services currently supplied at 36 degrees East by W4, and capacity for further expansion. Financing of the new satellite will be ensured by Eutelsat, with the launch provided within the framework of the current Russian Federal Space Programme for 2006-2015. In-orbit operations will be managed by RSCC from its Dubna satellite centre.

The MOU was signed today in Moscow at the official opening of the SVIAZ Expocom 2011 conference and exhibition, by Yuri Prokhorov, Director General of RSCC, and Michel de Rosen, CEO of Eutelsat Communications, in the presence of Igor Shchegolev, Minister for Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation.

Yuri Prokhorov, Director General of RSCC, declared: "With the commissioning and the launch of a new satellite, the Russian Federation will have additional capabilities to expand its direct broadcasting networks in the European part of the country and have the necessary in-orbit resources to support further growth of the satellite business. We look forward to further consolidating our strategic partnership with Europe's leading satellite operator."

Michel de Rosen, Eutelsat CEO added: "We are delighted to benefit from the expertise of RSCC as a shareholder in Eutelsat over almost 20 years, and to be their chosen partner in a satellite venture which will expand our satellite capacity and secure long-term visibility at the 36 degrees East position. We share the common objective to continue to work together for the benefit of our customers and to deliver satellite resources that support the expansion of a vibrant digital economy for the Russian Federation."

The longstanding collaboration between the two companies goes back to 1994 when RSCC, representing the Russian Federation, joined the EUTELSAT intergovernmental organization in order to develop its international satellite resources. The opening of services at 36 degrees East began in 1997 with the positioning by Eutelsat of a first satellite to initiate digital TV broadcasting in Russia. This milestone was followed in 2000 by the launches of Eutelsat's W4 and SESAT 1 satellites, the latter marking the beginning of an industrial collaboration between French and Russian satellite manufacturing capabilities that was followed by the Express AM series of satellites. The most recent milestone at 36 degrees East was the entry into service in January 2010 of Eutelsat's powerful, high-capacity W7 satellite that replaced SESAT 1, and has more than doubled available resources.

About the Russian Satellite Communications Company

Russian Satellite Communications Company is the Russian national satellite communications operator, whose satellites provide global coverage. The company was formed in 1967 and is one of the ten largest satellite operators worldwide in terms of the size of its orbiting frequency resources. RSCC owns Russia's largest satellite constellation. Areas served by RSCC satellites, which are in orbit at points from 14 degrees W to 140 degrees E, cover all of Russia, the CIS countries, Europe, the Near East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific Region, North and South America, and Australia.

As Russia's national satellite communications operator, RSCC handles important national tasks, supporting mobile presidential and government communications, transmitting federal TV and radio signals throughout Russia and most of the world. The company actively participates in implementing priority national projects. RSCC closely interacts with the Russian state authorities in the development of information and telecommunications systems for communications and broadcasting. RSCC provides a full range of communications and broadcasting services using its own terrestrial equipment and satellite constellation, including modern Express-AM, Express-MD, Express-A, and Bonum-1 satellites and some French W4 satellite capacity. The company's satellites provide extensive capabilities to establish TV and radio broadcasting including DTH, IPTV, and MPEG-4 services, broadband Internet access, data transmission, videoconferencing, and deployment of VSAT networks and departmental and corporative communications networks worldwide. The company has a modern terrestrial satellite control system, which it uses to control not only its own satellites, but those of Eutelsat, Intelsat, and others as well.

The company includes five satellite communications centers (SCC): Dubna, Bear Lakes, Skolkovo, Zheleznogorsk, Khabarovsk and the Shabolovka Technical Center in Moscow and its own high-speed optical-fiber digital network. http://www.rscc.ru

About Eutelsat Communications

Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234) is the holding company of Eutelsat S.A.. With capacity commercialised on 27 satellites that provide coverage over the entire European continent, as well as the Middle East, Africa, India and significant parts of Asia and the Americas, Eutelsat is one of the world's three leading satellite operators in terms of revenues. At 31 December 2010, Eutelsat's satellites were broadcasting more than 3,700 television channels to over 200 million cable and satellite homes in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The Group's satellites also serve a wide range of fixed and mobile telecommunications services, TV contribution markets, corporate networks, and broadband markets for Internet Service Providers and for transport, maritime and in-flight markets. Eutelsat's broadband subsidiary, Skylogic, markets and operates access to high speed Internet services through teleports in France and Italy that serve enterprises, local communities, government agencies and aid organisations in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. Headquartered in Paris, Eutelsat and its subsidiaries employ 683 commercial, technical and operational employees from 28 countries.