SES Americom, the Princeton, N.J.-based unit of Luxembourg’s SES Global [Luxembourg and Frankfurt: SESG], has forged a multi-year service agreement to provide satellite capacity to EchoStar Communications [Nasdaq: DISH].

The capacity would be provided aboard SES Americom’s AMC-15 satellite, already under construction. EchoStar plans to use the capacity to offer a combination of satellite TV programming and satellite-delivered, high-speed Internet services.

Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] is the manufacturer of the AMC-15, a Ku/Ka-band hybrid satellite that is based on the A2100 spacecraft platform. AMC-15 is planned for launch to the orbital slot of 105 degrees West Longitude in the third quarter of 2004. When fully operational, the satellite will feature 24 Ku-band transponders, 12 Ka-band spot beams and high levels of redundancy on core components such as amplifiers, receivers, commanding beam and computer control systems, SES Americom officials said.

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