Astra 1A inclined orbit capacity at 5E press release

ASTRA AT 5.2° EAST OFFERS COST EFFECTIVE INCLINED ORBIT CAPACITY

SES ASTRA, an SES GLOBAL company (Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG; Frankfurt Stock Exchange: SDSL), has opened up new, cost-efficient satellite communications opportunities over Europe, targeting news agencies, broadcasters, ISPs and other organizations. With the relocation of ASTRA 1A to 5.2° East and the satellite's shift into inclined orbit, commercially attractive tariffs are available on a wide and flexible range of professional applications, solidly backed by a tradition of operational excellence exclusive to the ASTRA fleet.

ASTRA at 5.2° East offers full, part-time or occasional transponder access for organizations needing to deliver data or programming to regional, national or international users who are not direct-to-home (DTH) customers. ASTRA 1A offers perfect connectivity for ISPs to Internet backbones and to corporate networks communicating LAN to LAN. Customers may choose to transmit data via a contribution link to a multiplexing platform or an uplink station for re-transmission to other satellites, such as the extensive SES GLOBAL fleet, covering 95 % of the world's population.

ASTRA 1A already provides contribution services to broadcasters GermanConnect (formerly ChannelD) and AB Sat while NSAB has contracted one transponder for occasional use services.

Occasional use - Capacity when you need it

News organisations and television and radio broadcasters benefit from occasional satellite capacity offering proven reliability and security at attractive prices. Occasional use via ASTRA 1A offers customized satellite capacity exactly when you need it. It enables broadcasters to send analogue or digital transmissions from a remote studio or from permanent uplink stations via a contribution link. The signal may then be delivered to a designated location or be re-transmitted via other satellites.

An additional advantage is that occasional short SNG transmissions will not require satellite tracking as ASTRA 1A has only recently entered inclined orbit.

Booking capacity is easy with "STARS"

Booking satellite time could not be easier as registered and approved customers may reserve satellite time 24 hours a day, in real time online using the Satellite Transponder Availability Reservation System (STARS).

SES ASTRA's 24-hour Web-based booking service STARS OnlineTM is an easy-to-use system that meets the flexible and immediate needs of news organizations. All approved registered clients are empowered to book transponder capacity directly. SNG operators and uplink service providers shall register at SES ASTRA before booking any capacity.

Teams of highly skilled engineers at the SES ASTRA operations center in Betzdorf, Luxembourg, continuously control the 13 operational satellites in the ASTRA fleet to ensure that each meets exacting performance standards. This commitment to operational excellence has resulted in an outstanding network availability and a proven reliability record of 99.98%.

SES ASTRA's customer support additionally offers technical consultation services in configuring the customer's site network, assistance in establishing uplink and downlink equipment and advice on equipment requirements and satellite link budgeting. Technical support is available 24 hours a day.

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