SES AMERICOM Commits to Proton Launch for AMC-15; Hybrid Spacecraft Designated for DTH Broadband & Video Services.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 8, 2003

SES AMERICOM, an SES GLOBAL Company (Luxembourg and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges: SESG) announced today that it signed an agreement with International Launch Services (ILS) to launch the AMC-15 satellite in the second half of 2004 on a Proton/Breeze M launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The announcement was made today during the Euroconsult World Satellite Business conference.

SES AMERICOM ordered an unspecified Proton launch from ILS earlier this year, and recently assigned it to a Proton/Breeze M launch for the AMC-15 satellite. The spacecraft, an A2100 model built by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems (LMCSS), will operate its Ku-band and Ka-band payload from 105 degrees West and distribute video, Internet and broadband services across the U.S. including Alaska and Hawaii. EchoStar has contracted with AMERICOM for both payloads on AMC-15 for the Dish Network. The target launch date is August 2004.

Dean Olmstead, President and CEO of SES AMERICOM, said, "With the launch of AMC-15, we will reach a key milestone in the development of the AMERICOM2Home(SM) neighborhood at 105 degrees West and the next generation of broadband services. We have come to rely on ILS to provide timely and reliable launch services."

"It's a pleasure to confirm this Proton mission for SES AMERICOM," said ILS President Mark Albrecht. "With the June '03 launch of AMC-9 and the upcoming AMC-12 mission planned for the first half of '04, we will reunite a very experienced team on the AMC-15 campaign next summer in Baikonur."

SES AMERICOM has the most active launch and fleet expansion plan of any operator in 2004. In addition to AMC-15, another four satellites will be added to the AMERICOM fleet: AMC-10 and AMC-11 will be Atlas IIAS missions from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in the first quarter; AMC-12 will be a Proton mission from Baikonur in the second quarter; and AMC-13 is scheduled on an Ariane 5 from the Kourou Spaceport later in the year. AMC-15 has a ground spare as does the AMC-10/AMC-11 program.

AMERICOM2Home(SM) (A2H) was announced by AMERICOM in April 2002 to expand the satellite platform resources available to the direct-to-home services companies and programmers who wish to reach American homes with video, broadband and other advanced services. The first satellite in the A2H 105 neighborhood is AMC-2, which was relocated to that orbital position and readied for operation in August. AMC-15 will succeed AMC-2 and offer both circular polarization and high-power on the FSS Ku-band platform composed of 24 transponders of 36 MHz each, as well as 12 Ka-band spotbeams of 125 MHz each. Pending FCC authority, AMERICOM also has plans to operate a BSS satellite, AMC-14, at 105.5 degrees West.

The A2H open platform approach is modeled on the success of SES AMERICOM's sister company in Europe, SES ASTRA (SES GLOBAL's European satellite operating company), which operates 13 DBS satellites on which broadcasters and content owners provide numerous "free-to-air," pay television, and broadband offerings directly to residences and to cable systems throughout Europe.

The largest supplier of satellite services in the U.S., SES AMERICOM, Inc. is recognized as a pioneer of global satellite communications services. Established in 1973 with its first satellite circuit for the U.S. Armed Forces, the company currently operates a fleet of 16 spacecraft in orbital positions providing service throughout the Americas, across Europe, over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and throughout Asia. As a member of the SES GLOBAL family, AMERICOM is able to provide end-to-end telecommunications solutions to any region in the world. SES AMERICOM's key customers include ABC Radio Networks, AT&T Alascom, AOL TimeWarner, British Telecom, Deutsche Welle, Discovery, EchoStar, Fox, TV Guide/Gemstar, Gannett, HBO, Hughes Network Systems, NBC, The New York Times, NHK, PaxNet, PBS, TELE Greenland, TV Europa, Verestar, Viacom and, through AMERICOM Government Services, various agencies of the U.S. government.