SES S.A. (NYSE Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) announced today that it has signed, through its service company SES TechCom, a contract with BT to provide satellite communications services for the Galileo Data Dissemination Network (GDDN) to support the Galileo Operator Spaceopal. The agreement includes the deployment, maintenance and support of Satcom ground infrastructure at various remote locations around the world including Antarctica, the provision of satellite capacity, and the monitoring and control of the GDDN satellite network. BT is the communications service provider of GDDN, responsible for its design, deployment and operation, while Spaceopal is Galileo’s Operations contractor. The contract was signed today in Luxemburg in the presence of the Grand-Duchy’s Minister for Higher Education and Research Minister, François Biltgen, in Luxembourg.

SES TechCom Managing Director Gerhard Bethscheider stated: “The selection of SES TechCom for this prestigious project illustrates the reputation which the Luxembourg Space industry has acquired since 2005, when the Grand-Duchy became a full member of the European Space Agency. We are delighted to work closely together with our partners BT and Spaceopal on the realisation of Europe’s most prestigious satellite navigation constellation.”

Galileo - managed by the European Space Agency on behalf of the European Union - is Europe's initiative for a state-of-the-art global satellite navigation system, designed to provide a highly accurate, guaranteed global positioning service under civilian control. GDDN is an essential element of the Galileo communications infrastructure. It interconnects the two Galileo Control Centers in Italy and Germany to an extensive network of sensor stations, uplink stations and TT&C (Telemetry, Tracking & Control) stations distributed around the world. It also provides the connectivity to the Galileo satellite test and launch facilities, security monitoring centers, network management facilities and external entities.

Edwin Hageman, CEO BT Benelux, said: “Following our successful deployment in the ‘in-orbit validation’ phase of the project, we were thrilled that Spaceopal selected us last December to also provide network services in the next ‘full operational capability’ phase. In this phase, we will expand the network and upgrade existing sites to the latest design and technology. I am confident that with SES, we have a winning team to deliver the opportunities that lie ahead for the Galileo programme.”

Francesco d`Amore, Spaceopal`s Managing Director, explained: “Galileo is much more than operating satellites in space from control centers in Oberpfaffenhofen and Fucino. The overall operations management needs permanent connections, with infrastructure distributed around the globe. The worldwide network is essential to ensure the continuity and reliability of the time and positioning information. Therefore, Spaceopal relies on the huge experience of both European communication service providers BT and SES.”

Minister Biltgen recalled the instrumental role of the participation of Luxembourg in the ESA Galileo programme to enable the positioning of Luxembourg industry in the implementation of the European GNSS programmes: “The contract signed today is an illustration that the capabilities developed in the frame of ESA programs lead to new opportunities for the Luxembourg space industry. Successes like the present one justify the continuous support of the Government to the development of this sector in Luxembourg.” Luxembourg joined the Galileo programme of ESA in 2005. This participation enabled Luxembourg industry to become a visible contributor to the development and the deployment of the Galileo system.