SES Astra Signs E-Sourcing Deal in Romania; Enters Bulgarian Market

[Satellite TODAY Insider 04-25-11] SES Astra continued its aggressive Central and Eastern European market development strategy by signing partnerships and capacity leases in Romania and Bulgaria.
    Romanian Internet service provider E-Sourcing will market SES Astra’s Astra2Connect satellite-based broadband service in Romania as the result of a contract signed April 21. E-Sourcing said it would target Astra2Connect services to households and businesses in isolated areas without access to Romanian terrestrial broadband networks.
    "Since broadband access is a catalyst for economic success in the information economy, it has become increasingly important for businesses and individuals to be connected to the Internet. With Astra2Connect, we offer an easy solution to access the Internet everywhere and independent from any terrestrial infrastructures," SES Astra CCO Norbert Holzle said in a statement.
    The partnership is part of SES Astra’s effort to expand its presence in Central and Eastern Europe after recently entering the Bulgarian market, which has proven to be a viable growth market for the company.
    Bulgarian DTH operator Satellite BG AD leased three SES Astra transponders at 23.5 degrees East to support regional broadcast services. The orbital position also supports SES Astra’s contracted services in Central and Eastern Europe and the Benelux countries. Regional service providers CS Link and Skylink are using 23.5 degrees East for DTH satellite services in the Czech and Slovak republics.
    "While commercial broadcasters were strongly affected by the slowdown of the advertising market, pay-TV operators even saw an uptake in their subscriber figures," SES Astra Vice President and General Manager Markin Kubacki told Satellite TODAY Insider. "The impact on our business was thus limited but certainly stronger in Central and Eastern Europe then in other European markets. We now see these markets slowly recovering from the crisis and developing new dynamics, especially with the digital switchover coming closer in many markets and the introduction of new standards and technologies such as HD and 3-D."
    In January, SES Astra signed an agreement to provide the Albanian Postal Service’s rural customers with free Internet access via Astra2Connect. The Albanian Postal Service also will use Astra2Connect for its daily operations through Starsat, SES’ distribution partner in Albania. The satellite broadband platform will be installed in 300 post offices, which is more than half of all the post offices in the country.
    Three months later, SES Astra launched an Astra2Connect-powered broadband sub-distribution service based in Germany to provide connectivity to European customers in areas without terrestrial broadband. "Our sub-distribution solution bears an enormous potential to close the white spots in Germany while promoting cooperation between infrastructure providers and telco operators at the same time. We are convinced that we are offering an attractive service for communities, Internet service providers and end customers alike," said Holzle.

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SES Astra Signs E-Sourcing Deal in Romania; Enters Bulgarian Market

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