SES ASTRA SIGNS FIFTH TRANSPONDER WITH UPC DIRECT

ASTRA's reach to digital satellite homes in Central Eastern Europe increases by 25%

SES ASTRA, an SES GLOBAL company (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG), has announced today that it has signed a further capacity agreement with UPC Direct, the key Direct-to-Home bouquet provider for the Central and Eastern European region. The agreement provides UPC Direct with a fifth digital transponder from ASTRA at the prime orbital position 19.2° East. UPC Direct will use this capacity to serve Central and Eastern European satellite homes with its programme offers and bouquets.

SES ASTRA has significantly increased its reach to digital satellite homes in Central and Eastern Europe in the last year. At the end of 2005, ASTRA reached 1.3 million digital satellite households in the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and in the Slovak Republic, an increase by 300,000 compared to the previous year. With this increase, 7 out of 10 digital satellite homes in this region receive ASTRA channels while 41% of all ASTRA satellite homes in this region are digital, up from 31% last year.

“Our new commercial agreement with UPC Direct further strengthens our important and long-standing business relationship”, said Alexander Oudendijk, Chief Commercial Officer of SES ASTRA. “It also demonstrates the growing attraction of our satellites for programme operators and customers across Central and Eastern Europe and underlines the dynamic growth that ASTRA is experiencing in this region.”

“This extension allows us further improvement of the abundant content and variety of our quality digital service in the region and thus preserves UPC Direct’s leading position”, added Balazs Sranko, Managing Director of UPC Direct Central and Eastern Europe.

For further information please contact:

Markus Payer
SES ASTRA
Tel + 352 710 725 500
markus.payer@ses-astra.com