SES Orders Two State-of-the-Art Satellites for its Prime TV Neighbourhood Serving 118 Million Homes
18.11.2021 10:50:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
SES announced today it has ordered two geostationary (GEO) Ku-band satellites for its prime orbital slot at 19.2 degrees East to maintain the premium services it provides to its European video customers and to capture new opportunities in the region. These two replacement satellites – ASTRA 1P and ASTRA 1Q – will be built by Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%) and are expected to launch in 2024.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211117006466/en/
SES Orders Two State-of-the-Art Satellites for its Prime TV Neighbourhood Serving 118 Million Homes (Photo: Business Wire)
ASTRA 1P, a classic wide-beam satellite, will support SES’s prime TV neighbourhood and enable content owners, private and public broadcasters across Germany, France and Spain to continue broadcasting satellite TV channels in the highest-picture quality in the most cost-efficient manner.
ASTRA 1Q, a next-generation digital satellite with both wide beams and high-throughput spot beams, will be able to support direct-to-home (DTH) operations like ASTRA 1P. In addition, the fully flexible ASTRA 1Q is customisable on orbit and can be deployed easily to other orbital positions, enabling SES to serve the dynamic needs of its video and data customers well into the future.
The current satellites operating at SES’s prime orbital neighbourhood of 19.2 degrees East serve an unparalleled 118 million households or over 43 percent of all European TV homes. Specifically the majority of satellite homes in Germany, France and Spain are being served by the ASTRA satellites. The number of TV homes receiving HD content from these satellites has increased almost 30 percent over the past five years.
“Our prime TV neighbourhood at 19.2 degrees East is one of our most valuable assets and has been key to enabling renowned European broadcasters to grow their TV audiences in the last 30 years. These two satellites will have the resiliency, reliability and redundancy that our video customers need, and will be able to deliver continued premium services well into 2040,” said Steve Collar, CEO of SES. “Additionally, thanks to advanced satellite technology, we will be future-proofing our investment and injecting a high degree of flexibility into ASTRA 1Q to ensure we are meeting the evolving needs of all the markets we serve.”
“This contract reflects the ability of Thales Alenia Space to match complementary customer’s needs for both capacity and flexibility. We are proud to offer to SES our full electric Spacebus NEO flight proven product line to answer Astra 1P mission as well as our innovative software defined solution Space Inspire, allowing Astra 1Q the full in-orbit flexibility requested to serve the dynamic of the evolving market,” said Hervé Derrey, CEO of Thales Alenia Space.
The procurement of the two satellites was already incorporated within SES's existing Capital Expenditure outlook for 2021-2025 and is fully compliant with the company’s financial policy.
Follow us on:
Twitter
Facebook
YouTube
LinkedIn
Instagram
Read our Blogs >
Visit the Media Gallery >
About SES
SES has a bold vision to deliver amazing experiences everywhere on earth by distributing the highest quality video content and providing seamless connectivity around the world. As the leader in global content connectivity solutions, SES operates the world’s only multi-orbit constellation of satellites with the unique combination of global coverage and high performance, including the commercially-proven, low-latency Medium Earth Orbit O3b system. By leveraging a vast and intelligent, cloud-enabled network, SES is able to deliver high-quality connectivity solutions anywhere on land, at sea or in the air, and is a trusted partner to the world’s leading telecommunications companies, mobile network operators, governments, connectivity and cloud service providers, broadcasters, video platform operators and content owners. SES’s video network carries over 8,500 channels and has an unparalleled reach of 361 million households, delivering managed media services for both linear and non-linear content. The company is listed on Paris and Luxembourg stock exchanges (Ticker: SESG). Further information is available at: www.ses.com.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211117006466/en/
Contact information
Suzanne Ong
Tel: +352 710 725 500
External Communications
suzanne.ong@ses.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Andersen Consulting Enters Collaboration Agreement with Solutia26.3.2026 17:59:00 EET | Press release
Andersen Consulting expands its presence in Spain through a Collaboration Agreement with Solutia, a firm specializing in occupational and workplace health solutions, as well as recruitment across the life sciences and healthcare sectors. Founded in 2014, Solutia provides comprehensive services and consulting focused on healthy work environments, absenteeism, healthcare outsourcing, and training for organizations across all sectors. The firm also delivers recruitment and executive search solutions specialized in life sciences, technical professionals, and middle and executive management, with deep expertise in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical technology, and healthcare industries. Solutia helps organizations enhance workforce efficiency and attract specialized talent through tailored solutions based on data. “We are committed to advancing how organizations attract, develop, and manage talent in an increasingly complex environment,” said Cesar Castel, managing director of Solut
CSG Named a Leader in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Customer Journey Analytics & Orchestration26.3.2026 17:30:00 EET | Press release
Rising customer expectations for connected, relevant, and effortless interactions are making journey analytics and orchestration critical to delivering consistent, personalized experiences that earn loyalty. As CSG® (NASDAQ: CSGS) helps businesses to meet and exceed those expectations, the company today announced that CSG has been named a Leader in the 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Customer Journey Analytics & Orchestration. The evaluation assessed the company’s overall Completeness of Vision and Ability to Execute. “It’s not enough to understand the customer – businesses must act on that knowledge in real time and prove the value of every customer interaction,” said Katie Costanzo, President, Customer Experience, CSG. “That requires a unified system that turns real-time data into clear decisions, measurable outcomes, and experiences customers can trust. I am incredibly proud that CSG has been named a Leader in the inaugural Gartner Magic Quadrant for Journey Analytics & Orchestrat
India: The Up-and-Coming Solar Market26.3.2026 17:27:00 EET | Press release
Solar energy expansion is booming worldwide. India, in particular, is seeing rapid growth thanks to state funding programs, tax incentives, subsidies and green loans from banks. In 2025, 37.5 gigawatts were added – a 50 percent increase from the previous year. The 2026 budget provides for a deployment of 45 to 50 gigawatts, allowing the most densely populated country to become the second largest solar market in the world. Intersolar Europe will shine a spotlight on the south Asian country from June 23–25 in Munich. India is an up-and-coming market for the international PV industry. There will be numerous events where visitors can learn about the market, new business opportunities and the structure of new supply chains. The exhibition will take place as part of The smarter E Europe, Europe’s largest alliance of exhibitions for the energy industry. More than 100,000 visitors and 2,800 exhibitors from all over the world are expected to attend. This press release features multimedia. View
Vena Completes Acterys Acquisition to Accelerate Orchestrated Planning for the Microsoft Ecosystem26.3.2026 15:00:00 EET | Press release
Vena, the AI-powered Orchestrated Performance Management platform purpose-built to fully amplify the Microsoft technology ecosystem, today announced it has completed its acquisition of Acterys, the leading Microsoft Power BI–based operational planning and app development platform. The move strengthens Vena’s Orchestrated Planning solution and begins phased integration of the two platforms. Modern enterprises are struggling to keep up with the volatility and dynamism of the markets they serve. Market drivers and signals shift rapidly, and the ability to assess, plan and execute with confidence and speed is more important than ever. These forces, combined with overwhelming data density and disparity, have created a new constraint: decision latency—the time between signal and action. As that gap widens, confidence erodes and competitive advantage is lost. Orchestrated Planning removes decision latency by harmonizing data, people, processes and agentic capabilities to help organizations mo
Nearly Half of Global C-Suites Plan U.S. Expansion Within 12 Months, as Supply Chain and Capital Access Drive Growth26.3.2026 15:00:00 EET | Press release
Nearly half (45%) of global C-suite leaders plan to establish a legal entity in the United States within the next 12 months, highlighting continued demand for access to the U.S. market. This finding from the latest research by CSC—the leading provider of global business administration and compliance solutions—demonstrates the U.S. continues to attract investment from around the world, even as companies face an increasingly complex regulatory landscape. CSC surveyed 300 C-level executives at large organizations headquartered in Europe, the U.K., Asia Pacific, and South America to examine global sentiment toward U.S. market entry, including expansion plans, strategic drivers, and regulatory challenges.1 CSC’s report Navigating U.S. Market Entry: Insights, Risks, and Opportunities for Global Businesses details the results. The research highlights strong forward momentum toward U.S. expansion. In addition to the 45% planning to establish an entity within the next 12 months, a further 27% s
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom