SES TO TAKE 20% STAKE IN BRAZIL'S EMBRATEL SATELLITE DIVISION FOR US$135 MILLION

WorldCom's Embratel and SES/ASTRA launch broadband services strategic partnership

Société Européenne des Satellites S.A. (SES), the Luxembourg-based owner and operator of ASTRA, Europe's leading Direct-To-Home (DTH) satellite system, has entered into a definitive agreement with Worldcom's Embratel Participações S.A., the company that controls the Brazilian national telecommunications operator Embratel.

As part of the agreement, SES will purchase a 20% interest in Embratel Satellite Division, a pan-regional Latin America Internet high-speed broadband operations company based in Rio de Janeiro. The transaction is subject to approval by the relevant regulatory authorities and is anticipated to close in 3Q 2000.

Embratel Satellite Division operates the Brasilsat Satellite System, the largest satellite fleet in South America, and together with SES/ASTRA, will exploit the pent-up demand by introducing satellite broadband Internet services directly to homes and businesses in Latin America, one of the fastest-growing broadband markets in the world.

The Transaction

SES will pay a total consideration of US$135 million to acquire 20% of Embratel's existing stake in Embratel Satellite Division, valuing the company at a total of US$ 675 million. SES retains an option to acquire a further 10% interest.

The consideration for the transaction is being funded from SES' available resources. The impact of the transaction is expected to be slightly earnings dilutive in 2001 and 2002 due to the cost of financing the investment.

Completion of the transaction is subject to the approval of the relevant Brazilian telecommunications and competition authorities, ANATEL and CADE.

Strategic Development Agreements

SES and Embratel will also enter into Shareholder and Strategic Partnership Agreements. These Agreements focus on their shared interest in developing both the service portfolio and geographical penetration of Embratel Satellite Division. The orbital positions and frequency spectrum available through this investment will notably permit the rapid expansion of new broadband multimedia services, starting with Brazil, the biggest market in Latin America. Embratel and SES plan also to install an open standard ASTRA-NET multimedia platform in Rio de Janeiro.

The Latin America Broadband Market

Embratel Satellite Division will first commercialize high-speed Internet broadband services in Brazil, which represents more than half of all broadband Internet subscribers in Latin America. Thereafter, the company will serve Mercosur and the Andean region followed by Mexico and Central America. According to industry experts, the total number of subscribers in Latin America represents 2.5 million today and is expected to surge to 10 million by 2005. The Latin America broadband subscriber market is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 32 percent and is valued at US$1 billion today and will skyrocket to $4 billion by 2005.

Comment

"Building on Embratel's established base of more than 7 million C-band dishes, our unrivaled leadership in data and Internet transmission services, Embratel Satellite Division can now capitalize on SES' expertise in DTH and offer sorely needed broadband services directly to homes and businesses in Latin America", said Dan Crawford, Chairman of Embratel Participações S.A.

Romain Bausch, Director General and Chairman of the Management Committee of SES, said: "Establishing an SES presence over the Americas has been and continues to be an integral part of our Company's ambition to create a global broadband satellite network. Through our strategic investments in AsiaSat, NSAB and now Embratel, we will be able to interconnect the European ASTRA and Sirius satellites with the Asian/Pacific AsiaSats and Latin American Brasilsats to offer broadband services spanning four continents."

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About Embratel Satellite Division:

Embratel pioneered satellite services in Brazil in 1985 and continues to operate the largest satellite fleet in Latin America. Embratel Satellite Division owns and operates the Brazilian Satellite Telecommunications System (SBTS) at the orbital positions 65° West, 70° West, 84° West and 92° West. SBTS currently operates four geostationary satellites: Brasilsats A2, B1, B2 and B3, carrying a total of 102 C-band transponders, with a fill rate in excess of 90%. The Brasilsat B4 satellite will be launched in August 2000 with 28 C-band transponders to replace the A2 satellite currently operating in inclined orbit at 65° West. The Brasilsat satellites provide TV and radio broadcasting, data transmission, telephony, trunking, Internet and multimedia services in South America, with primary focus on Brazil.

Embratel Satellite Division, based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, started operations in 1976 through the INTELSAT satellite system and in 1985 transitioned to the Brasilsat satellite system.

About Embratel:

WorldCom owns a controlling stake in Embratel Participações S.A., the company that controls the Brazilian national telecommunications operator Embratel, trades on New York Stock Exchange (NYSE): EMT and the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange in Brazil (BOVESPA): EBTP3, EBTP4. Embratel is the main provider of high-speed data transmission and Internet services in Brazil with the largest fiber-optic broadband network covering over 26,000 kilometers. The company also provides long distance, international and 40 other innovative communication services. Embratel has the largest long distance telecommunications network in Latin America and owns the only national and international Brazilian telecommunications network directly connected to thousands of companies. For more information, please visit www.embratel.net.br

About SES/ASTRA:

Société Européenne des Satellites S.A. (SES) is the operator of ASTRA, Europe's leading direct-to-home Satellite System. Via nine active satellites at the orbital positions of 19.2° East and 28.2° East, ASTRA transmits in analogue and digital more than 950 different television and radio channels as well as multimedia and Internet services to an audience of close to 78 million homes in Europe. Four additional satellites are under construction and due for launch before end 2001.

SES is also a major shareholder in AsiaSat (34.13% since January 15th, 1999) and announced on July 17th, 2000, that it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire a 50% ownership in Nordic Satellite Company NSAB, subject to approval by competition authorities.

SES is a pioneer of interactive and multimedia services through SES Multimedia, a wholly owned subsidiary. SES Multimedia operates the ASTRA-NET platform, enabling service and content providers to transmit data directly, via satellite, to personal computers in businesses and homes across Europe.

SES is the first European satellite operator to commercially exploit the Ka-band frequency for interactive and multimedia services in Europe. In 2000, SES will commence commercial trials of the first operational DVB-RCS broadband satellite return channel system, serving the growing market in Western and Central Europe for 2-way asymmetric, high-speed broadband collection and delivery of multimedia.

SES securities are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (symbol: SES) and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (symbol: SDSL).