Intelsat New Dawn MCPC Media Platform Debuts in Africa
GlobeCast to Provide Ground and Uplink Services
from its Johannesburg Facility
Luxembourg, 29 February 2012
Intelsat S.A., the world’s leading provider of satellite services, and GlobeCast, a leading global content management and delivery company, today announced the launch of the Intelsat New Dawn Ku-band Multi-Channel Per Carrier (MCPC) media platform for Africa. As part of the IntelsatONESM terrestrial network, the platform provides a cost-effective solution for both regional and international programmers wishing to expand their distribution to cable and Direct-to-Home (DTH) services across sub-Saharan Africa. Intelsat is a leading video provider in Africa, offering more than 800 television channels to the continent.
GlobeCast will provide ground and uplink services for the platform from its facility in Johannesburg, South Africa. Customers can contribute content to the platform from anywhere in the world, either via Intelsat’s global satellite fleet and the IntelsatONE network, or through the five-continent GlobeCast Backbone Network.
The Intelsat New Dawn MCPC media platform is Intelsat’s fourth Ku-band MCPC platform on the IntelsatONE network, bringing to 16 the total number of Intelsat MCPC platforms.
The platform is based on DVB-S2 modulation and MPEG-4 compression technology, and can be received with sub-1 meter antennas in much of its coverage area.
“One of the most exciting things about this new platform is that our broadcast customers can now uplink directly from Africa to a prime position for the DTH market in our region of the world,” said Alan Hird, CEO of GlobeCast Africa. “With our global satellite capacities and fiber network, the content can easily come from anywhere worldwide to GlobeCast’s facility in Johannesburg. We expect this to quickly become a key neighborhood for broadcasters in Africa.”
“The new Intelsat New Dawn MCPC platform offers programmers in Africa and throughout the world complete end-to-end solutions for delivering content to their affiliates and consumers in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Jon Osler, Intelsat’s managing director for Africa. “The addition of this platform supports entry for new channel carriers and adds to our global portfolio of content distribution solutions.”
Additional Contact:
Matthew Rosenstein
Global Director, Public Relations and Branding, GlobeCast
matthew.rosenstein@globecast.com
+1 212 332 2178
About GlobeCast
A subsidiary of Orange, GlobeCast is a leading provider of media management and global content delivery services for broadcasters and content creators. With a secure fiber and satellite network connected to dozens of teleports, technical operations centers, and points-of-presence worldwide, GlobeCast manages and transports millions of hours of video and other rich media each year. An integrator of audiovisual technology and a full service provider, GlobeCast works with all the actors in the audiovisual chain from production companies to broadcasters, retail organizations, cinema chains, and more. The company provides on-site service from major news and sporting events for coverage in SD, HD, or even 3D. Present in Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Australia, GlobeCast is also an expert in international television markets, and works with new and established broadcasters to reach and secure distribution with leading pay-TV operators around the world.
About Intelsat
Intelsat is the leading provider of satellite services worldwide. For over 45 years, Intelsat has been delivering information and entertainment for many of the world’s leading media and network companies, multinational corporations, Internet Service Providers and governmental agencies. Intelsat’s satellite, teleport and fiber infrastructure is unmatched in the industry, setting the standard for transmissions of video, data and voice services. From the globalization of content and the proliferation of HD, to the expansion of cellular networks and broadband access, with Intelsat, advanced communications anywhere in the world are closer, by far.
About Intelsat New Dawn
Initially announced in December 2008, the US$250 million Intelsat New Dawn project is funded approximately 15% with equity and 85% with debt. African institutions are providing approximately 90% of the total financing required for the joint venture and Intelsat will contribute the balance. Nedbank Capital, part of the Nedbank Group (one of South Africa’s largest banking groups) and a leading telecom project financier in South Africa, has arranged the non-recourse debt financing. A consortium of lenders including Nedbank, the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa and the African Development Bank will provide the debt funding. The equity is provided by Intelsat (74.9%) and the Convergence Partners-led group (25.1%), which also includes Altirah Telecoms and the not-for-profit Convergence Partners Foundation.
