New CEO for European Mobile Satellite Services Joint Venture

Eutelsat Communications and SES ASTRA have announced the appointment of Steve Maine as CEO of their jointly-owned venture offering Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) in S-Band. The Joint Venture, known under the name "Solaris", will commercialise the first satellite infrastructure in Europe for broadcasting video, radio and data to mobile devices and vehicle receivers as well as a range of interactive mobile services.

Eutelsat`s W2A satellite carrying the S-Band payload is scheduled for launch at the very beginning of 2009.

Commenting on his appointment, Steve Maine said: "We are standing on the verge of a whole new market for Mobile Satellite Services and I believe that no two companies are better-placed than SES ASTRA and Eutelsat to contribute their industry-leading knowledge and experience towards a new set of mobile applications of real value to consumers across Europe. I am convinced that this is the most innovative opportunity in Europe's telecommunications and media marketplaces and I am very excited by the prospects for opening a new chapter in satellite communications in Europe."

For the first time in Europe a set of frequencies are being set aside both for terrestrial and satellite services. These S-Band frequencies sit alongside the UMTS frequencies already in use across Europe for 3G terrestrial services, facilitating the inclusion in mobile handsets of these new mobile services. Handsets equipped with the first DVB-SH chipsets were successfully demonstrated last week at the 3GSM conference in Barcelona in a demonstration of live mobile TV in the S-Band. The "Solaris" satellite infrastructure will also enable a wide range of interactive services for commercial and public service applications.

Posted to the site on 21st February 2008