Arianespace Flight 186 Set for End November With Eutelsat's HOT BIRD(TM) 9 and W2M Satellites

Arianespace Flight 186 Set for End November With Eutelsat's HOT BIRD(TM) 9 and W2M Satellites

PARIS and EVRY, France, October 6/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Arianespace and Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL)
confirm that the upcoming launch of the Ariane 5 ECA will orbit Eutelsat's
HOT BIRD(TM) 9 and W2M satellites. The launch of Flight 186 is planned to
take place in the last week of November and will be the sixth Ariane 5 launch
in 2008.

The modification to the Arianespace launch manifest enables
Eutelsat to ensure timely entry into service of HOT BIRD(TM) 9 and
accelerates the deployment of the W2M satellite.

Built by EADS Astrium, the construction of HOT BIRD(TM) 9 was
completed in July and the satellite arrived in Kourou from Toulouse on
September 16 to be prepared for launch. W2M, which is built by EADS Astrium /
ISRO is due to be shipped from Bangalore (India) to Kourou by mid-October to
initiate final preparations for launch.

Designed for consumer broadcasting to satellite and cable
homes across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, the high-power Ku-band
HOT BIRD(TM) 9 satellite, equipped with 64 transponders, will join Eutelsat's
13 degrees East position to increase in-orbit sparing at the Group's premium
video neighbourhood. HOT BIRD(TM) 9 is identical to HOT BIRD(TM) 8 which was
launched to 13 degrees East in August 2006 and HOT BIRD(TM) 10 which will be
orbited by Arianespace beginning of 2009.

W2M will be positioned at Eutelsat's 16 degrees East position
which represents one of the Group's fastest-growing neighbourhoods for
digital broadcasting in central Europe and Indian Ocean islands. Equipped
with 26 Ku-band transponders and up to 32 depending on operational modes, the
new satellite will replace W2 and provide additional capacity for further
service expansion.

About Eutelsat Communications

Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code:
FR0010221234) is the holding company of Eutelsat S.A.. With capacity
commercialised on 24 satellites that provide coverage over the entire
European continent, as well as the Middle East, Africa, India and significant
parts of Asia and the Americas, Eutelsat is one of the world's three leading
satellite operators in terms of revenues. At 30 June 2008, Eutelsat's
satellites were broadcasting more than 3,120 television channels and 1,100
radio stations. More than 1,100 channels broadcast via its HOT BIRD(TM) video
neighbourhood at 13 degrees East which serves over 120 million cable and
satellite homes in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The Group's
satellites also serve a wide range of fixed and mobile telecommunications
services, TV contribution markets, corporate networks, and broadband markets
for Internet Service Providers and for transport, maritime and in-flight
markets. Eutelsat's broadband subsidiary, Skylogic, markets and operates
services through its teleport in Italy that serves enterprises, local
communities, government agencies and aid organisations in Europe, Africa,
Asia and the Americas. Headquartered in Paris, Eutelsat and its subsidiaries
employ 538 commercial, technical and operational experts from 27 countries.

http://www.eutelsat.com

About Arianespace

Arianespace is the world's leading launch Service & Solutions company,
delivering innovative services and solutions to its customers since 1980.
Backed by 23 shareholders and the European Space Agency, Arianespace offers
an unrivalled launcher family, comprising Ariane 5, Soyuz and Vega, and an
international workforce renowned for their culture of excellence. As of 6
October 2008, Arianespace had launched a total of 263 payloads, including
more than half of all the commercial satellites now in service worldwide. It
has a backlog of nearly 25 Ariane 5 and 10 Soyuz launches, equal to more than
3 years of business. http://www.arianespace.com

Mario de Lepine
Media Relations Manager
Tel: +33-1-60-87-60-15 / 6307
m.delepine@arianespace.fr
http://www.arianespace.com

For further information:
Press
Vanessa O'Connor
Tel: +33-1-53-98-38-88
voconnor@eutelsat.fr

Frederique Gautier
Tel: +33-1-53-98-38-88
fgautier@eutelsat.fr

Investors
Gilles Janvier
Tel: +33-1-53-98-35-30
investors@eutelsat-communications.com

Source: Eutelsat Communications

Mario de Lepine, Media Relations Manager, Tel: +33-1-60-87-60-15 / 6307, m.delepine@arianespace.fr; For further information: Press, Vanessa O'Connor, Tel: +33-1-53-98-38-88, voconnor@eutelsat.fr; Frederique Gautier, Tel: +33-1-53-98-38-88, fgautier@eutelsat.fr; Investors, Gilles Janvier, Tel: +33-1-53-98-35-30, investors@eutelsat-communications.com

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