Press Releases
SES’s Final Three O3b mPOWER Satellites Successfully Launched
Additional O3b mPOWER satellites complete constellation and strengthen performance, resiliency and reach of SES's MEO network
SpaceRISE selected by European Commission to build and operate the IRIS² multi-orbit satellite constellation
The release has been published on the SpaceRISE website
SpaceRISE, the consortium comprising Eutelsat (ISIN: FR0010221234 - Euronext Paris / London Stock Exchange: ETL), Hispasat and SES (Ticker: SESG), together with other core members, is pleased to announce it has been awarded by the European Commission to design, deliver, and operate IRIS², the European Union’s pioneering multi-orbit connectivity system. This milestone represents a crucial step towards establishing a secure, resilient, and autonomous communications infrastructure for Europe.
IRIS² will play a transformative role in reinforcing Europe’s resilience, digital sovereignty, and low-latency connectivity for all EU Member States. This IRIS² multi-orbit satellite system is intended to enhance Europe’s ability to respond to crises, protect essential infrastructure, and bridge the digital divide. With full operational status targeted for the early 2030s, IRIS² will deliver a secure and competitive communications backbone aligned with Europe’s strategic and digital priorities.
The IRIS2 programme is a public private partnership (PPP) which will be funded by a combination of EU, European Space Agency and private financing from the three satellite operators within the SpaceRISE consortium.
The consortium looks forward to the final phase of the procurement process leading to contract signature expected by the year end.
Eva Berneke, Chief Executive Officer of Eutelsat commented: “The IRIS² programme is a powerful extension of Eutelsat’s commitment to advancing Europe’s digital sovereignty through sustained investment in multi-orbit technology to deliver multi-layered, low-latency networks, which are essential to Europe’s strategic resilience. We are proud to support the EU on this project alongside the consortium partners to deliver a resilient, future-ready communication system that meets Europe’s most critical connectivity needs, while generating value-creation for Eutelsat and its stakeholders by complementing and enhancing our existing LEO capabilities."
Miguel Ángel Panduro, Chief Executive Officer of Hispasat added: "We are firmly committed to everything that IRIS² represents: a sovereign secure communications system, supported by European innovative developments and driven by public-private partnership. It is an ambitious project, in which the companies of the SpaceRISE consortium are working to offer the best response to the demands of the European Union. This award is an exciting first step of a project that will define the future of satellite communications in Europe."
Adel Al-Saleh, Chief Executive Officer of SES said: “Being selected as a trusted partner for IRIS² is an honour. SpaceRISE, based on the European Union’s requirements will define and develop a future-proof space network that will serve as the cornerstone of Europe’s space and defence strategies in the years to come. The IRIS² system is aligned with SES’s multi-orbit network and underscores our commitment to advancing our MEO capabilities, as well as having access to LEO orbit. We will continue to ensure that the contract meets our IRR requirements, cash generation fundamentals, and investment grade metrics.”
SES and RTL Deutschland Extend Partnership across Germany and Austria on ASTRA 19.2 degrees East
SES to deliver all RTL Deutschland’s TV offerings in SD, HD and UHD on its prime TV neighbourhood at 19.2 degrees East
Luxembourg, 16 July 2024 – SES and RTL Deutschland have extended their long-term partnership to deliver a wide range of high-quality TV channels to audiences across Germany and Austria. The extension will run to the end of the decade. RTL Deutschland’s TV offering will also continue to be available on HD+, SES’s high-definition satellite TV platform in Germany.
The agreement, which covers the distribution of SD, HD and UHD TV channels via SES’s prime TV neighbourhood at 19.2 degrees East, will help ensure that viewers across the region can access their favourite programmes with an optimal viewing experience, including RTL, VOX, ntv, NITRO, SUPER RTL, TOGGO plus, RTLup, VOXup, RTLZWEI and the RTL UHD event channel.
In addition to satellite capacity, SES will now provide uplinking services for RTL Deutschland's TV channels directly from its facilities in Munich, Germany and Betzdorf, Luxembourg.
“SES has been an important partner in delivering RTL Deutschland's linear programming for many years now. We are very pleased to continue and expand this excellent partnership with a long-term agreement. Thanks to SES’s satellites at 19.2 degrees East, we are also able to regularly bring attractive content to our viewers in the highest image quality with our UHD event channel,” said Andre Prahl, Chief Distribution Officer at RTL Deutschland.
“Our extended partnership with RTL Deutschland underpins the importance of satellite in delivering content cost effectively, whether in SD, HD or UHD, to the 18 million satellite TV households in Germany and Austria and enabling them to continue enjoying RTL Deutschland’s diverse programming in the quality they prefer,” said Norbert Hölzle, Global Head of Media at SES.
With a mission to augment its satellite fleet at the 19.2 degrees East video neighbourhood, SES launched the ASTRA 1P satellite on 20 June 2024 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, further enabling the delivery of premium TV content to 119 million TV homes across Europe.
For further information please contact:
Suzanne Ong
External Communications
Tel. +352 710 725 500
[email protected]