A collaborative effort between SES ASTRA and GlobeCast resulted in a capacity contract with the French telecommunications operator Orange to distribute its new Orange TV via satellite. This is positive news as it particularly targets French homes with no TV coverage over ADSL.

Orange TV is part of a triple play offer (TV, telephone, Internet) and will be broadcast by the ASTRA satellite system from the prime orbital position 19.2° East, which already serves more than five million French direct-to-home households.

“Our satellites help Orange to greatly enhance the technical reach of its new Orange TV offer,” said Nick Stubbs, Managing Director of ASTRA France. “Our 19.2° East position is the leading orbital slot for direct-to-home satellite reception in France, and allows Orange to reach customers in regions with insufficient ADSL coverage. Our agreement with Orange demonstrates the role of satellite as a perfect complement to terrestrial distribution technologies in building triple play offers with truly universal reach. It also further strengthens the position of ASTRA in the French market.”

GlobeCast will be handling transmission of Orange TV, including digitalization, MPEG-4 encoding, multiplexing, encryption and uplink services. GlobeCast is a subsidiary of France Télécom and one of SES’s major worldwide partners.