SES Astra has announced today that it has signed an agreement with Italian network operator Tivuitalia for capacity on its 31.5 degrees East orbital position. Tivuitalia will use the capacity for contribution services, enabling the transmission of digital TV and radio signals to its digital terrestrial network in Italy.
In addition to capacity for digital terrestrial transmission, SES Astra will also provide satellite-based broadband services for remote monitoring and control of digital terrestrial transmitters using its broadband service Astra2Connect. The terrestrial transmitters, part of Tivuitalia’s digital terrestrial network, will be connected to Tivuitalia’s operational premises via the Astra2Connect broadband platform.
Norbert Hölzle, CCO, SES Astra, said in a statement: “We are very pleased to have signed this agreement with Tivuitalia which marks our breakthrough in the Italian market. Offering broadcasting services from our 31.5 degrees East orbital position allows us to combine them with services from orbital position 19.2 degrees East, which also covers Italy, and thus develop an attractive offer for broadcasters in the Italian market. The agreement with Tivuitalia shows that our market strategy is bearing fruit.”
Antonio Mazzara, CEO, Tivuitalia added: “We are convinced that SES Astra, being a new entrant in the Italian market that offers an excellent service quality, is a perfect partner for the development of our business. SES Astra offers a comprehensive end-to-end solution, for both contribution and monitoring services that allows Tivuitalia to deliver its customers an outstanding service for the transmission of programmes in the DTT market.”