Alcatel Alenia Space to provide Arabsat's BADR-6 satellite communication payload

Press Release: 27^th June, 2006

Alcatel Alenia Space to provide Arabsat's BADR-6 satellite communication payload

Alcatel Alenia Space announced today that it will provide the communication payload on-board BADR-6 (“full moon”), the third of the Arab Satellite Communications Organization's (Arabsat) fourth-generation satellites. The BADR-6 satellite, whose prime contractor is EADS Astrium, is scheduled to be operational in 2008.

Covering a stretched zone encompassing the entire Middle East and North Africa region (MENA), plus a large part of the sub-Saharan Africa, BADR-6 will primarily provide the Arab League's telecommunications organization with expansion and "hot" in-orbit back-up capacity for its core direct TV broadcasting customers, as well as a significantly larger number of options for optimizing its telephony and data transmissions.

This satellite will be co-located with the rest of the BADR constellation of Arabsat's Direct-To-Home satellites at its 26 degrees East video "hot-spot", by far MENA's leading television neighborhood. Fitted with 40 transponders, 24 C-band and 16 Ku-band end of life, it will be reaching an audience of 130 Million viewers from Morocco to the Gulf and a significant share of Africa. The payload, developed in Alcatel Alenia Space facilities in France, will be integrated on the EADS Astrium Eurostar E2000+ spacecraft.

Blaise Jaeger, general manager, satellite telecommunication activities, Alcatel Alenia Space, said: “This new contract for Arabsat, the 30 years leader of satellite telecommunications over the Arab world, strengthens Alcatel Alenia Space’s leading position in the worldwide telecommunication payload market with 22% market share. We're definitely proud of and honored by their renewed trust in our technology and capabilities.”

Since the 1980s, Alcatel Alenia Space has already delivered to Arabsat two fourth-generation satellite payloads, three first-generation satellites, two second-generation satellites and one third-generation satellite.

About Arabsat

Arabsat is the leading provider of satellite communications to the Arab Communities in the Middle East. Ranked as the world's 10th larger Satellite Operator, Arabsat continues to offer its customers multi-mission satellite services, such as Direct-to-Home television, telephony, Internet and the provision of VSAT and other digital interactive services that meet both current and emerging demands of Arabsat customers. Arabsat's satellites provide coverage to more than 100 countries of tens of millions of homes, stretching out from the Middle East and North Africa, to a large part of sub-Saharan Africa and the major parts of western and eastern Europe.

About Alcatel Alenia Space

Alcatel Alenia Space is the European leader in satellite systems, at the forefront of orbit infrastructures. Created in July 2005, the company brings together the vast experience and know-how of Alcatel Space and Alenia Spazio to form a new leading force in European space technology. Alcatel Alenia Space represents a worldwide standard for space development that impacts everybody’s future: from navigation to telecommunications, from meteorology to environmental monitoring, from defense to science and observation. Alcatel Alenia Space is an affiliate of Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) (67%) and Finmeccanica (Milan:SIFI.MI, FNC.IM) (33%).

About Alcatel

Alcatel provides communications solutions to telecommunication carriers, Internet service providers and enterprises for delivery of voice, data and video applications to their customers or employees. Alcatel brings its leading position in fixed and mobile broadband networks, applications and services, to help its partners and customers build a user-centric broadband world. With sales of EURO 13.1 billion and 58,000 employees in 2005, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries. For more information, visit Alcatel on the Internet: http://www.alcatel.com

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