TBILISI, Georgia & LUXEMBOURG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SES (Paris:SESG)(LuxX:SESG) and MagtiCom, the Georgian mobile and telecommunication company, announce the launch of MagtiSat, Georgia’s first domestic direct-to-home (DTH) satellite platform, via ASTRA. The pay-TV offer will be available beginning January 23, 2012. SES owns and operates the ASTRA satellites.
MagtiSat will offer 75 TV channels that include the most popular standard definition (SD) and high-definition (HD) channels. At the initial stage, MagtiCom will offer three packages: start, basic and HD. The packages will be available throughout Georgia from the first day of broadcasting.
Based on a long-term agreement between SES and MagtiCom, several ASTRA transponders at its 31.5 degrees East orbital position will be utilised for Georgia’s first domestic DTH television platform. The 31.5 degrees East orbital position offers excellent growth opportunities for broadcasters in Central Eastern Europe and can accommodate the rising demand for SD and HD services in the region. The operator will broadcast in DVB-S2 standard and MPEG-4 encoding.
Ferenc Szelenyi, Senior Vice President, Commercial Europe, at SES, said: “SES is pleased that MagtiCom has chosen ASTRA to help launch the first DTH platform to offer satellite digital television throughout Georgia. The success of MagtiCom in the telecommunications industry combined with our experience in DTH broadcasting will boost the growth of pay-TV in the market.”
David Lee, General Director of MagtiCom, said: “By launching MagtiSat, MagtiCom will accelerate Georgia’s switchover to digital TV broadcasting. Introducing a DTH platform is a unique opportunity for us to provide Georgian customers with high-standard digital TV broadcasting across the country. This launch is also important for the entire region, as it allows the population of the South Caucasus to enjoy a large and very attractive satellite TV offer.”
About SES
SES is a world-leading satellite operator with a fleet of 49 geostationary satellites. The company provides satellite communications services to broadcasters, content and internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators and business and governmental organisations worldwide. The SES global satellite fleet is complemented by a network of teleports allowing customers to reach 99% of the world's population.
SES stands for long-lasting business relationships, high-quality service and excellence in the broadcasting industry. The culturally diverse regional teams of SES are located around the globe and work closely with customers to meet their specific satellite bandwidth and service requirements.
SES (Paris:SESG)(LuxX:SESG) holds participations in Ciel in Canada and QuetzSat in Mexico, as well as a strategic participation in satellite infrastructure start-up O3b Networks.
About MagtiCom
MagtiCom provides top-quality mobile and fixed telecommunication services to all the regions of Georgia, including both voice and data. The telecommunications company MagtiCom Ltd was commercially launched in September 1997. At present the company is owned by Telcell Wireless LLC and ITC LLC.
The MagtiCom network covers over 98% of the populated territory of Georgia and serves more than 2 000 000 subscribers. MagtiCom commenced operations on the 900 MHz frequency band. In November 1999 MagtiCom became the first GSM operator in Georgia to move to the dual-band system – GSM 900/1800 MHz. In 2006 Magticom was the first operator in the Caucasus region that launched 3G services on its network. For more information about Magticom please visit: www.magticom.ge.