[SatNews] Additional capacity has been acquired from Eutelsat...

TRACE, the fast-growing media brand specialized in music and sports celebrities content, is strengthening its relationship with Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) via a five-year contract for capacity and uplinking services on the EUROBIRD™ 9A satellite. The new deal gives TRACE an exceptional footprint to broadcast across Europe and the Middle East its three HD thematic networks, TRACE Urban HD, TRACE Tropical HD and the recently-launched TRACE Sports HD. As part of the agreement with Eutelsat, its Skylogic affiliate is uplinking the three channels from its teleport in Turin (Italy). Satellite delivery of the three channels via EUROBIRD™ 9A will enable TRACE to reach multiple European and Middle East cable, DSL, mobile and DTH platforms, including Eutelsat's KabelKiosk digital cable platform which last month enriched its HD portfolio of channels with TRACE’s HD content.

Additionally, the Company has also announced a three-year distribution agreement valued at 5 million euros between its Skylogic subsidiary and Eser Telekom to provide the Tooway™ satellite broadband service in Turkey, Iraq, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Eser Telekom will use the Tooway™ service, delivered via Eutelsat’s KA-SAT satellite, to provide high-speed broadband to the many enterprises and consumers beyond reach of terrestrial networks across the region. Working with local governments, Eser Telekom also plans to develop innovative KA-SAT-based solutions specifically for public administrations. The new agreement marks the first major contract in Turkey, Iraq, Georgia and Azerbaijan to leverage the powerful features of the KA-SAT platform. With the consumer service offering download speeds of up to 10 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 4 Mbps, Tooway™ broadband will bring fast, reliable and affordable Internet access for Eser Telekom customers in areas with limited alternative solutions for broadband. The Tooway™ solution consists of a satellite dish and a modem connected to the PC via Ethernet, giving customers Internet access with no dependency on a telephone line.