The high speed satellite Internet services via Astra target additional territories in Europe and North Africa, notably Algeria, Hungary, Ireland, Poland and the Czech Republic.

SES Astra signed a long-term contract with SERVISYS, a French provider of networks and software solutions for small to medium-sized businesses and replicated branch offices, for services to Algeria. This is the first Astra-delivered service specifically targeted at residential audiences in a North-African country.

In the Czech Republic, SES Astra's new commercial partner is Pragonet, a countrywide telecommunications service provider. In Hungary, telecom incumbent Matav will offer DSL-type satellite services via Astra, and in Ireland, MediaSatellite Ltd, a service provider for one and two-way satellite network services will market satellite broadband services to end-consumers in cooperation with Irish telecom operator Eircom.

In Poland finally, SES Astra has entered into an agreement with Onet.pl, Poland's leading Internet portal, which registers more than a billion impressions a month, making it the only Polish portal amongst the most visited in the world.

The launch of all five of the new broadband services on Astra has already been initiated. Astra has been offering high speed satellite Internet services to end-consumers in the Benelux (with BySky), Germany (Deutsche Telekom) and Italy (Netsystem) since 2000.

States Alexander Oudendijk, Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing at SES Astra: "We are excited to extend the Astra broadband services to new territories. The ubiquity of satellite services provides for a readily available, yet state-of-the-art "gap-filler" to bridge the digital divide, not least in regions neglected by modern terrestrial infrastructures.

With more and more businesses and consumers relying on high-speed connectivity, Astra broadband services are poised to meet a genuine market demand."

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