Arabsat Bouquet Joins AsiaSat2

Arabsat/ASBU Bouquet Joins AsiaSat 2 (31 August 2006) Asia's leading satellite operator Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat) announced today that the Arabsat/ASBU Bouquet has commenced broadcasting on AsiaSat 2, joining other Middle Eastern programming for free to air distribution to serve the vast Arab community in Asia and Australasia. This Arabic-language Bouquet consists of a group of television and radio services from the ASBU (Arab States Broadcasting Union) members including ten television channels from Abu Dhabi TV Europe, Jamahiriya Satellite Channel, Oman TV, Palestinian TV, Qatar TV, Saudi Arabian TV 1, Sharjah TV, Sudan TV, Syria Satellite Channel, Yemen TV and 13 radio channels. These channels, originally broadcasting on AsiaSat 3S, will be dual illuminating on both AsiaSat 2 and AsiaSat 3S satellites till 1st October when they become exclusively available on AsiaSat 2. This broadcast arrangement is part of the ASBU's global satellite distribution project, in partnership with GlobeCast and Arabsat, initiated for the ASBU members for global programme distribution. "AsiaSat 2 carries an established Middle Eastern community of programming from the Arab States. Moving the Arabsat/ASBU Bouquet to AsiaSat 2 is therefore the natural choice for continuing and expanding the broadcast services of our member channels in Asia and Australasia. We appreciate the value of joining Asia's most popular multicultural and multilingual broadcast platform, bringing our member channels to wider Arab audiences across the region," said Abdelrahim Suleiman, ASBU Technical Director. Eng. Khalid Balkhyour, Arabsat President and CEO, welcomed the move of the Bouquet to AsiaSat 2, "We are committed to actively support the development and success of the Arabsat/ASBU Bouquet and are glad to see the move to an even stronger neighbourhood of Arabic and foreign programming on AsiaSat 2." "AsiaSat 2 is home to Asia's Middle Eastern content that now offers viewers a comprehensive platform of Arabic programming. We are very pleased that we have further expanded the Middle Eastern neighbourhood on AsiaSat 2, enabling Arabic viewers under our vast coverage to access multiple channels on a powerful satellite," said Peter Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of AsiaSat. The Arabsat/ASBU Bouquet is available on AsiaSat 2 in C-band with the following reception parameters: Transponder: 5A Frequency: 3820 MHz Polarisation: Vertical Modulation: QPSK Symbol Rate: 27.5 Msym/sec FEC: 3/4 About ASBU The Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) is a professional, non-profit organisation including 28 Arab networks broadcasting via satellite either their own programmes or retransmissions of other channels. Of its member broadcasters, 17 are state-run and 11 are owned and managed by Arab private capital TV channels operated by these networks. ASBU's channels cover a wide range of purposes and events throughout the Arab world. About GlobeCast GlobeCast, a subsidiary of France Telecom, is a global content management and delivery company. Via its world-wide satellite and fibre network, the company manages and transports 10 million hours of video and other rich media yearly for its core customer base of broadcasters, as well as corporate, government and retail clients. The company's global presence includes 15 teleports and technical operations centres throughout Europe, America, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Australia. About Arabsat Backed by the 22 member countries of the Arab League, and with a 30 years heritage of continuous operations, Arabsat offers the Arab World an unmatchable range of satellite-based communications' services such as Direct-to-Home television and radio, telephony, Internet backbone and direct broadband as well as the provision of VSAT and other interactive services that meet both current and emerging demands. Ranked as the world's 10th largest Satellite Operator, Arabsat is committed to keep expanding its services in order to meet the evolving needs of its customers. Its vision is to consolidate its long-standing leading regional position as the pioneer of satellite communications in the Arab world by delivering an unparalleled level of service in the MENA region, providing quality products, employing the most skilled individuals, and remaining at the forefront of new technologies. About AsiaSat 2 AsiaSat 2 operates at an orbital location of 100.5 degrees East. The satellite is a Lockheed Martin Series 7000 model and carries twenty 36 MHz and four 72 MHz C-band, as well as nine 54 MHz Ku-band linearised transponders. AsiaSat 2's wide C-band footprint covers more than 53 countries spanning from Russia to New Zealand and from Japan to the Middle East and parts of Africa. It also has a high-power Ku beam serving the Greater China region, Korea and Japan. AsiaSat 2 currently serves many regional and international broadcasters, wholesale news agencies, video service providers, teleport service providers for video and news distribution and contribution services, as well as governments and corporations for VSAT network services. About AsiaSat AsiaSat, the leading regional satellite operator in Asia, serves over two-thirds of the world's population with its three satellites, AsiaSat 2 at 100.5ºE, AsiaSat 3S at 105.5ºE and AsiaSat 4 at 122.2ºE. The AsiaSat satellite system provides services to both the broadcast and telecommunications industries. Over 240 television channels and 130 radio channels are now delivered by the company's satellites, reaching over 96 million households, with more than 360 million viewers across the Asia Pacific region. Many telecommunications customers use AsiaSat for services such as public telephone networks, private VSAT networks and high speed Internet and multimedia services. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Asia Satellite Telecommunications Holdings Limited,. (source: AsiaSat) http://www.asiasat.com/eng/01_company/news_20060831.pdf