Eutelsat Selects EADS Astrium To Deliver Hot Bird™ 9 Broadcast Satellite

Paris, 4 May 2006, Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) today announced the selection of EADS Astrium to build the HOT BIRD™ 9 broadcast satellite which will be launched in 2008 and positioned at the Group’s premium video neighbourhood at 13 degrees East.

The new satellite’s deployment at Eutelsat’s key position for satellite and cable broadcasting underpins the Group’s objectives to continue to renew capacity at its HOT BIRD™ neighbourhood, raise in-orbit redundancy and security for broadcasting clients and increase overall flexibility across its fleet.

HOT BIRD™ 9 is based on the Eurostar E3000 platform already selected for HOT BIRD™ 8 and has a similar mission capacity, three times that of the previous generation HOT BIRD™ satellites. It will operate up to 64 transponders in Ku-band at a payload power of 11 kW for its planned 15-year service life in orbit. Designed to cover all 102 Ku-band transponders at the HOT BIRD™ neighbourhood, it will be able to substitute any transponder on any other HOT BIRD™ satellite. Its broad footprint and high emission power will enable digital and new HDTV channels as well as interactive services to be received by small DTH antennas and cable and community networks throughout Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

According to the terms of the agreement, HOT BIRD™ 9 will be delivered to Eutelsat for launch in third quarter 2008.

HOT BIRD™ 9 is the 14th satellite commissioned by Eutelsat from EADS Astrium.

About Eutelsat Communications
Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234) is the holding company of Eutelsat S.A. The Group is a leading satellite operator with capacity commercialised on 23 satellites providing coverage over the entire European continent, as well as the Middle East, Africa, India and significant parts of Asia and the Americas. The Group is one of the world’s three leading satellite operators in terms of revenues. Its satellites are used for broadcasting nearly 1,800 TV and 900 radio stations to more than 120 million cable and satellite homes. The Group also provides TV contribution services, corporate networks, mobile positioning and communications, Internet backbone connectivity and broadband access for terrestrial, maritime and inflight applications. Eutelsat Communications is headquartered in Paris, and the Group’s workforce comprises over 480 from 27 countries.

EADS ASTRIUM
EADS Astrium is Europe’s leading satellite system specialist. Its activities cover complete civil and military telecommunications and Earth observation systems, science and navigation programmes, and all spacecraft avionics and equipment.
EADS Astrium is a subsidiary of EADS SPACE. In 2005 EADS SPACE had a turnover of €2.7 billion and 11,000 employees in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain.
EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2005, EADS generated revenues of €34,2 billion and employed a workforce of more than 113,000.

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Eutelsat Communications

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