Intelsat, Ltd., the world’s leading provider of commercial satellite services, announced today that at 18:29 ET the Galaxy 17 satellite was successfully launched aboard Arianespace’s Ariane 5 ECA rocket. The satellite, built by Thales Alenia Space, will initially operate from 74 degrees W and offer high-power capacity to video programmers, government and corporate broadband customers in North America and in the Caribbean.
Galaxy 17 will eventually be located at 91 degrees W and will join Intelsat’s coveted North American cable community within its Galaxy fleet comprised of 15 other satellites that cover North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The satellite features 24 C- and 24 Ku-band transponders allowing for increased power and flexibility for key video and data transmissions. This is Intelsat’s first satellite launch of 2007.
Intelsat, Ltd. CEO David McGlade stated, “Today’s successful launch of our Galaxy 17 satellite reflects our ongoing commitment to technical excellence and leadership for our industry. We believe Galaxy 17 will be in demand from customers seeking high-powered C- and Ku-band capacity in North America. The 91 degrees W orbital location is ideal for serving the media community, and is also well positioned to serve the data network and government markets.”
Galaxy 17 will be the 52nd satellite in Intelsat’s operational fleet when it enters service in July 2007.
About Intelsat
Intelsat is the leading provider of fixed satellite services (FSS) worldwide and is the leading provider of these services to each of the media, network services and government customer sectors, enabling people and businesses everywhere constant access to information and entertainment. Intelsat offers customers a greater business potential by providing them access to unrivaled resources with ease of business and peace of mind. An extensive customer base, including some of the world’s leading media and communications companies, multinational corporations, Internet service providers and government/military organizations, utilizes our services. Real-time, constant communication with people anywhere in the world is closer, by far.
Intelsat Safe Harbor Statement: Some of the statements in this news release constitute “forward-looking statements” that do not directly or exclusively relate to historical facts. The forward-looking statements made in this release reflect Intelsat’s intentions, plans, expectations, assumptions and beliefs about future events and are subject to risks, including known and unknown risks. Detailed information about some of the known risks is included in Intelsat’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Because actual results could differ materially from Intelsat’s intentions, plans, expectations, assumptions and beliefs about the future, you are urged to view all forward-looking statements contained in this news release with caution. Intelsat does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contact:
Intelsat, Ltd.
Nick Mitsis, +1 202-944-7044
nick.mitsis@intelsat.com
