Happy 45th Anniversary Intelsat!

Global satellite communications remained theoretical 45 years ago. On August 20, 1964, a company was formed to transform what was once science fiction into science fact. Today, Intelsat is a leading satellite company and owns and operates a fleet of 50 satellites, owns and operates 7 teleports, has a terrestrial network that includes 28,000 miles of fiber and we boast some of the industry’s best people among our 1,100 employees around the world.

Intelsat is renowned for many firsts. Carrying first globally broadcast television program – Neil Armstrong walking on the Moon – “Live via Satellite” was born. We have carried on our network every Olympic Games since 1968 and every World Cup since the inception of the company, as well as the recent Live Earth concerts that reached 2,000,000,000 people on planet Earth.

Intelsat is more than just a company. In serving our customers, we connect the world in ways no other medium can, whether through point-to-multipoint applications, to and from the most remote reaches, or connecting people to planes, trains and automobiles. Be it telemedicine or distance-learning, the evening news or your favorite movie, Intelsat is proud to be an integral component in how the world communicates.

It was said within our halls today, “Our pride in our 45 year heritage is equaled by our excitement for the future.”

Intelsat helped bring the action home to avid fans in the Americas, Europe and Asia via Intelsat's global network

Programmers frequently turn to Intelsat’s Special Events Team to help deliver popular live events to audiences around the globe, and the FIFA Confederations Cup South Africa 2009 was no exception. The Cup, considered a “dry run” for the 2010 World Cup, took place 14-28 June, and Intelsat helped bring the action home to avid fans in the Americas, Europe and Asia via Intelsat's global network.

At Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg, Intelsat offered live standup positions and play-outs, in addition to studio live shots, for the international tournament. Programming was transmitted via full-time and occasional use (OU) capacity on the Intelsat 10-02 satellite, located at 1° West.

For Europe, playouts and live shots were uplinked to Intelsat 12 satellite at 45° East. For Asia, playouts and live shots were uplinked to the Intelsat 904 satellite at 60° East, while in America, content was transmitted via the Intelsat 3R satellite at 43° West and then downlinked for distribution at Intelsat’s teleport in Ellenwood, Georgia.

Intelsat satellites delivered more than 460 hours of heart-pounding, cheer-filled content to the world, culminating in Brazil winning their third Confederations Cup title.

More than 230 hours of programming reached millions of viewers via the Intelsat 905 satellite and teleports

For the 5th consecutive year, Intelsat provided communications support for the Tour de France, which took place from Saturday, 4 July to Sunday, 26 July 2009. More than 230 hours of programming reached millions of viewers via the Intelsat network.

Cycling to a Technology VictoryCyclists were followed by a fully-equipped satellite news gathering (SNG) broadcast truck traveling with the race. Ten to 12 hours of daily programming was captured during the 23-day race.

Intelsat used satellite capacity on its Intelsat 905 satellite, located at 24° West, to receive the programming. Content was then downlinked and turnaround services managed at Intelsat’s teleports in Fuchsstadt, Germany, and Atlanta, Georgia. From there, rights holders and content distributors carried the Intelsat transmissions, delivering live and cached highlights of the event to cable and DTH communities.

LinkStar hub at Intelsat facility in Fuchsstadt, Germany will operate on the Intelsat IS905 satellite providing C-band coverage over Africa

ViaSat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT) is supplying LinkStarS2 ACM and SurfBeam satellite networking system hubs to Linkserve, one of the largest ISPs in West Africa. Linkserve recently completed the installation and commissioning of a new LinkStar hub at the Intelsat facility in Fuchsstadt, Germany. The new hub, the second LinkStar hub owned by Linkserve, will operate on the Intelsat IS905 satellite providing C-band coverage over Africa, augmenting Ku-band services already provided through its LinkStar hub in Lagos using Astra 2B. In addition to the two LinkStar hubs, Linkserve is deploying a Ku-band SurfBeam® hub, the first to serve the African market. Services to be offered across all three platforms include Internet browsing, voice over IP (VoIP), and streaming MPEG-4 video.

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Intelsat Reports Second Quarter 2009 Results

Second Quarter 2009 Revenue of $642 Million Advances 10 Percent as Compared to Prior Year Period

"Intelsat’s record Adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter of 2009 surpassed the $500 million level for the first time, reflecting attractive revenue growth and solid execution on cost management," said Intelsat CEO Dave McGlade. "Our network services business and Intelsat General Corporation government business are thriving as a result of the demand for the communications infrastructure we provide for applications such as broadband networking, cellular backhaul, and mobility."

In the second quarter we entered into a significant long-term renewal in our media business, underscoring the value of our satellite neighborhoods and contributing to an increase in our backlog to $9.5 billion at June 30, 2009 from $8.7 billion at the end of the first quarter," McGlade continued. "This growth in backlog reinforces the overall strength of our business across our customer sets, while also providing attractive visibility on future revenues and cash flows."

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The importance of satellites in African connectivity quest

Intelsat and Hughes Network Systems are currently the largest geostationary satellite operators although we will soon see a new African satellite as part of a venture between Intelsat and Convergence Partners.

Intelsat has an impressive African record; the company has been serving Africa since 1965. Today the company dominates the delivery of sports coverage. Since the 1968 Olympics, Intelsat has beamed images and commentary to a global audience. For the 2010 World Cup Soccer Intelsat will deliver coverage of both standard as well as high definition TV (HDTV) world-wide.

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SES, Intelsat Asking Lawmakers to Rethink Launch Ban on China, India

The world’s two largest commercial satellite fleet operators, Intelsat and SES, have joined forces to try to persuade Washington policymakers that China and India should be permitted to launch U.S. commercial satellites, according to officials from both companies.

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