MOSCOW and PARIS, November 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

• New RSCC satellite programme for 36° East neighbourhood to expand digital infrastructure in Russia
• Agreement to expand DTH broadcasting in Far East Russia from 140° East

RSCC (the Russian Satellite Communication Company), the state-owned Russian satellite operator, and Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL), Europe's longstanding satellite operator, today announced an agreement whereby Eutelsat will lease capacity for broadcasting and IP services on two RSCC satellites to be launched in 2013 and 2015. The contracts for Eutelsat's two 15-year leases are valued at approximately €300 million.

RSCC's satellite expansion plans include two new programmes: Express-АТ2 that will be launched to 140° East in 2013, and Express-AMU1 that will be launched in 2015 to provide follow-on and expansion capacity for EUTELSAT 36A at the 36° East position.

Express-АТ2 will more than double Ku-band capacity for satellite broadcasting at the key video neighbourhood serving Russia's Far East region. The satellite is already under construction by ISS Reshetnev using a payload designed by Thales Alenia Space.

Express-AMU1 will be a state-of-the-art high-capacity satellite with up to 70 transponders. It will provide coverage of the European part of the Russian Federation in Ku and Ka bands, and also ensure service continuity and growth for broadcast markets developed by Eutelsat in sub-Saharan Africa. The satellite will transform the broadcasting infrastructure at 36° East into a broader system to support more television services and IP-based applications to match the development of Russia's digital entertainment market. More than 11 million Direct-to-Home antennas in Russia are already pointed at this leading video neighbourhood, subscribing to the premium NTV+ platform or to Tricolor, one of the world's fastest-growing TV platforms. The new satellite's manufacturer will be selected by the end of 2012 following an RFP. Eutelsat will commercialise the capacity under the name EUTELSAT 36C.

Eutelsat CEO, Michel de Rosen, said: "We are delighted to have built a solid relationship with RSCC over 15 years and that we have together decided to take this new step to partner on satellite ventureswhich will secure long-term visibility at the 36° East position and open new opportunities for business at 140° East. 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."

"With Eutelsat we go back many years, to 1997," Yuri Prokhorov, RSCC Director General, pointed out. "Over the past three years RSCC and Eutelsat have been moving towards a project that would essentially create new services that Russian satellite telecom users want: to view cutting-edge quality TV and personally participate in content formation, as well as have access to telecom service anywhere in the Russian Federation, both fixed and mobile."

About RSCC

The Russian Satellite Communication Company (RSCC) is the Russian state satellite operator whose spacecraft provide a global coverage. RSCC was founded in 1967 and belongs to the 10 largest world satellite operators in terms of satellites and orbital slots. The company possesses the largest satellite constellation in Russia located in the geostationary orbital arc from 14 West to 140 East and cover the whole territory of Russia, the CIS, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific region, North and South America, and Australia. The company includes five teleports - Satellite Communications Centers (SCC): Dubna, Bear Lakes, Skolkovo, Zheleznogorsk, Khabarovsk and the Shabolovka Technical Center in Moscow as well as its own high-speed optical-fiber digital network. As the national satellite operator RSCC meets the important state tasks on providing mobile presidential and governmental communications, federal TV & Radio signal transmission over the territory of Russia and the most countries of the world. The company pays serious attention to implementing national projects. RSCC closely interacts with the Russian state authorities in the field of informational and telecommunications and broadcast systems development. RSCC provides a full range of communications and broadcasting services using its own terrestrial engineering facilities and satellite constellation including up-to-date spacecraft of Express-AM and Express-A series, Express-MD1, Bonum-1, and a part of the EUTELSAT 36A (W4) satellite capacity. The company's satellites offer wide opportunities to establish TV & Radio broadcasting inclusive DTH, IPTV, MPEG-4 services, broadband Internet access, data transmission, videoconferencing, VSAT network deployment, departmental and corporative communications networks worldwide. The company has its own satellite TT&C system. At present, RSCC controls and monitors the Eutelsat, Intelsat, etc. satellites using its engineering facilities. 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 29 satellites that provide coverage across Europe, as well as the Middle East, Africa and significant parts of Asia and the Americas, Eutelsat is one of the world's three leading satellite operators. As of 30 September 2012 Eutelsat's satellites were broadcasting more than 4,400 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 high-speed Internet services through teleports in France and Italy that serve consumers, enterprises, local communities, government agencies and aid organisations in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. Headquartered in Paris, Eutelsat and its subsidiaries employ just over 750 commercial, technical and operational professionals. This culturally diverse staff comprises employees from 30 countries. http://www.eutelsat.com

SOURCE Eutelsat Communications and RSCC