GT Satellite Systems Signs Multi-transponder Condosat Agreement to Secure Additional Satellite Capacity on ABS-2 for Russia and CIS

GT Satellite Systems S.A. (GTSS) and Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) announced that they have signed a deal valued at over US$ 125 million for multiple transponders on a condosat and lease basis to augment its multiservice capacity on ABS-2. Subsequent to the multiple transponder lease agreement announced in 2009, GTSS has developed its platform services, including TV channels contribution and “Raduga TV” Russian and CIS DTH business, which led GTSS to make a strategic investment to purchase additional condosat transponders on ABS-2, scheduled to be launched in early 2013.

ABS-2 is currently under construction and will have 89 active C, Ku and Ka-band transponders across 10 different beams with a design life of 15 years. It will be located at ABS’ prime orbital location of 75E. ABS-2 is specifically designed for a wide range of services including DTH, Cable TV distribution, VSAT services, Data networks and Telecommunications services. ABS-2 will provide expansion capacity to existing ABS-1 customers.

“We are extremely excited for the success that GTSS has been able to achieve with its ABS satellite platform businesses, including Raduga TV DTH. Our mission has always been to provide exceptional support to our customers, enabling their businesses to succeed,” said Richard Pak, Chief Development Officer. “This new agreement for additional capacity on ABS-2 is a perfect example of why the success of our company is directly tied to the success of our partners, and further confirmation of our close long-term relationship with GTSS.”

“Our successful cooperation with Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) for over 5 years, the firm’s impressive growth and clear development policy has created a solid ground for our strategic decision to go for a condo-sat solution on ABS-2. We believe that the premium quality of ABS-based services will provide the most favorable conditions for our present and future clients in Russia and the CIS countries,” said Anatoly Zyablitskiy, Director of GTSS in charge of Strategic Development.

About Asia Broadcast Satellite

Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) is one of the fastest growing premium satellite operators in the world. ABS offers a complete range of End-to-End solutions including Direct to Home (DTH) and Cable TV distribution (CATV), Cellular Backhaul, VSAT and Internet Backbone services with diverse IP transit through its European and Asian internet gateways. ABS currently host over 175 TV channels making it as one of the fastest growing and top satellite distribution platforms and broadcaster of TV channels in the Asia Pacific.

ABS has grown from a single satellite operator to operating four satellites in orbit (ABS-1, ABS-1A, ABS-3, ABS-7) and its fifth satellite (ABS-2) currently under construction.

ABS-3 at 3W, scheduled for operations in December 2011 will provide affordable high powered C and Ku-band satellite coverage over the Sub-Saharan African region to serve Africa’s growing communications requirements.

The ABS-2 satellite (scheduled 2013) will be located in geostationary orbit at 75 degrees East. Fitted with 89 active C, Ku, and Ka-band transponders, it will provide optimized direct TV broadcast, multimedia applications, telecommunications and data transmission services for Asia Pacific, Russia/CIS, Africa and the Middle East.
The ABS satellite fleet covers four-fifths of the world’s population across Asia Pacific, Africa, E. Europe, the Middle East, CIS and Russia.

For more information, please visit the Company’s website at www.absatellite.net

About GTSS

GT Satellite Systems (GTSS) is a Luxembourg-based operator of C and Ku-band transponders on six communications satellites covering all Europe and most of Asia, including Russia and the CIS. Among them there are Ku-band transponders on the ABS-1 Northern Beam and a Ku-band transponder on the Southern Beam, at the 75° EL orbit location, C-band transponders on Express satellites at 53° EL, 96,5°EL and 140°EL. Additional Ku-band transponders will be available for GTSS on ABS-2 satellite. GTSS provides Fixed Satellite Services as well as Media Services to national and international customers throughout Russia and the CIS.

GTSS’s Russian based subsidiaries manage a state-of-the-art teleport in Moscow directly linked via optical infrastructure to the main access nodes. GTSS’s subsidiaries run teleports located across the Russian territory. Their services include ultimate solutions for television and radio broadcasting companies, users of trunk communication channels and broadband Internet. The main teleport in Moscow offers play-out services for TV channels, post-production, encryption and other services.

For more information, please visit the Company’s website at www.gtssgroup.com.