SES AMERICOM Unveils SatelliteWiki.com

Satellite Company Commemorates 50th Anniversary of the First U.S. Satellite Launch with Information Repository Dedicated to Telling Satellite’s Role in Everyday Life

SES AMERICOM (www.ses-americom.com), an SES company (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg stock exchange:SESG), today announced the debut of satellitewiki.com, a wiki devoted to the satellite industry. The timing of the debut coincides with the 50th anniversary of the launch of Explorer 1, the first U.S. satellite.

Using the same style and software used to power Wikipedia, satellitewiki.com lets visitors explore the history of man-made satellites, definitions of satellite terms and learn about how satellites impact a wide range of industries from oil and gas to television.

“Many people don’t realize the important role the satellites play in our everyday life,” said Jon Russo, SES’s senior vice president of marketing and product management. “People encounter satellite technology in places that are often unexpected. For instance, very often when a person pays for gas at the pump, that transaction is handled over a satellite network; and most tv viewers don’t realize that the programming they are watching via cable is first distributed via satellite. Today, SES AMERICOM satellites deliver high speed connectivity to private business jets, ships at sea, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and tanks. When you cannot connect using wires and there are no cell towers available, what else but satellite can provide a reliable connection?”

Satellites have been making news recently with many major airlines offering inflight broadband to their passengers. The maritime industry utilizes high-speed Internet connectivity delivered via satellite technology, enabling passengers and crews on cruise ships and yachts to make voice over Internet (VoIP) phone calls from ship to shore or check email from the middle of the ocean.

From the first U.S. satellite’s bleep in 1958 to modern satellites with their own neighborhoods, users exploring the wiki can find interesting facts, download imagery and discover how satellites work. With input from other users and readers, information can be updated, changed and added, as well.

Want to know the difference between ‘carrier frequency’ and “geostationary transfer orbit”? Or when the best time to look up in the night sky to see a satellite passing over your neighborhood? Log on at http://satellitewiki.com.

Although SES AMERICOM has funded the creation of satellitewiki.com, the site is open to the public to add and edit content in true wiki fashion. SES AMERICOM invites all players in the satellite industry to visit satellitewiki.com and add their content so that the website can grow into an important resource for anyone interested in the satellite industry.
SES AMERICOM and U.S. satellite historical timeline

1958
Explorer 1 launched

1960
Trios 1 weather satellite launched

1962
Telstar 1 completed first transatlantic telecast

1962
Mariner 2 flies past Venus into solar orbit

1969
Mariner 7 returns images of Martian surface southern hemisphere

1971

RCA buys the Alaskan Communications System (later renamed RCA Alascom) from the federal government. The need to modernize the system drives RCA to satellite based services. RCA files with the FCC to construct and launch a four satellite system at a cost of $256 million to serve Alaska, Hawaii and the Continental United States.

1972

Pioneer 10 designed to familiarize alien life with humans, returns with close ups of Jupiter 1973. United States adopts an “Open Skies Policy” to encourage private industry to enter the satellite business.

1976

HBO inaugurates cable programming distributed in the U.S. via satellite by RCA AMERICOM, airs “Thrilla from Manila” heavyweight boxing match using satellites. Ted Turner debuts America’s first superstation.

1981

RCA AMERICOM auctions seven leases on Satcom F3R at Sotheby’s for $90 million. The transaction, later voided by the FCC, is still used today as a business school case study.

1982

AMERICOM establishes premiere radio neighborhood at 139(degree) West and introduces DATS industry standard.

1985

RCA AMERICOM launches its first Ku-band satellite, Satcom K2, onboard the space shuttle.

1986
AMERICOM becomes a part of GE with acquisition of RCA.

1992

Satcom C3 and Satcom C4 launched with dedicated C-band payloads for cable programmers.

1998

GE AMERICOM introduces high-powered, Ku-band services throughout Europe in partnership with NSAB, now an SES affiliate.

2000

GE AMERICOM adds four satellites to its fleet, acquires Atlantic and Pacific transoceanic capacity to complete global connections, and begins to deliver services in Asia.

2001

SES acquires AMERICOM from GE. SES GLOBAL formed to become world’s largest commercial satellite operator.

2002

SES AMERICOM announces a major initiative to serve the direct broadcast industry, AMERICOM2Home(R).

2003

SES AMERICOM enters into its first service agreement with EchoStar to provide capacity on AMC-2 and future AMC-15.

2004
SES AMERICOM launches HD-PRIME(R), America’s Cable Neighborhood.

2005

SES AMERICOM launches AMC-12, the Atlantic Ocean region’s most powerful C-band satellite ever — completing an unprecedented series of campaigns that saw five launches in a 12 month period.

2006

Major trials and development of IP-PRIME(R) lead to an innovative turnkey IPTV solution that leverages both cutting-edge distribution and encoding technologies and long-standing relationships with the world’s leading programmers.

2007

Major airlines begin offering in-flight broadband and Wi-Fi using satellite technology.

About SES AMERICOM

SES AMERICOM, North America’s leading satellite company, delivers video, voice and data ubiquitously across the continent, including locations impossible to reach with wired connections. SES AMERICOM’s HD-PRIME is the industry’s only five satellite HD neighborhood, delivering HD programming to multichannel providers nationwide, including Alaska and Hawaii. Leading HDTV producers, from Discovery and Scripps Network to NBC, from iN DEMAND to Comcast and MTV Networks, rely on HD-PRIME to deliver their programming. The AMC-18 satellite is the latest addition to HD-PRIME, joining AMC-1, AMC-4, AMC-10 and AMC-11.

About SES

SES AMERICOM is an SES company (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG). SES wholly owns three market-leading satellite operators, SES ASTRA in Europe, SES AMERICOM in North America, and SES NEW SKIES, which provide global coverage and connectivity. The company also holds strategic participations in SES Sirius in Europe, Ciel in Canada and QuetzSat in Mexico. SES provides outstanding satellite communications solutions via a fleet of 37 satellites in 25 orbital positions around the globe. Additional information on SES is available at: www.ses.com.

Contacts

SES AMERICOM
Media Contacts:
Monica Morgan, +1-609-987-4143
Monica.morgan {at} ses-americom(.)com
or
Mobility Public Relations
John Chilson, 503-343-4133
jchilson {at} mobilitypr(.)com