OREANDA-NEWS. January 18, 2010. Intersputnik guarantees long term availability of capacity at Eutelsat's 36° East neighbourhood for digital TV and broadband services in Russia.

The Intersputnik International Organization of Space Communications, and Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) announce the signature of a major contract for the long-term lease of 16 transponders at Eutelsat's 36° East video neighbourhood. The new agreement follows the entry into commercial service of Eutelsat’s W7 satellite, which is copositioned with W4, and has enabled Eutelsat to double resources at this flagship location for television broadcasting, notably in Russian and Ukrainian markets.

The 16 transponders will be leased by Intersputnik for the entire in-orbit life of W7, progressively joining over the next two years the four transponders already leased by Intersputnik on Eutelsat’s W4 satellite.

Intersputnik will deploy the new capacity to support the rapid expansion of digital TV in Russia. It will in particular provide new resources for the Gazprom Media Group to boost the range of channels offered in its NTV Plus and Tricolor platforms. The transponders will also enable new satellite broadband access offers to be provided to homes beyond range of terrestrial broadband networks.

Commenting on the agreement, Michel de Rosen, Eutelsat's CEO, said "The arrival on station of our powerful new W7 satellite is a significant landmark in the relationship between Eutelsat and Russia, which expanded more than 15 years ago to support the development of satellite TV. Today, with almost 200 satellite channels and an audience of over six million subscribers, the Russian satellite TV market is exceptionally dynamic and shows significant potential for continued growth. With the colocation of W4 and W7, Eutelsat has doubled broadcasting capability at 36° East, confirming our commitment to the long-term deployment of premium resources to partner the rapid take-up of digital services in Russia. We are particularly proud to further consolidate our relationship with our longstanding partner, Intersputnik, which, together with its clients, is committed to developing broadcast and Internet services in Russia.”

Commenting on the agreement, Vadim E. Belov, Intersputnik Director General, said: “Execution of this Agreement represents a new breakthrough in our long-term partnership with Eutelsat. After Intersputnik became an official distributor of Eutelsat satellite capacity some years ago, we conducted intensive marketing of this capacity. Having the status of an international intergovernmental organization, Intersputnik promotes Eutelsat capacity at different regional and national markets of satellite communications services. Execution of this agreement has one more significant angle for us – Intersputnik has actually become the leading provider of satellite capacity for DTH broadcasting in the Russian Federation. We are planning to further develop our fruitful cooperation with Eutelsat in the interest of the multi-million Russian TV-audience.”