(EMAILWIRE.COM, August 23, 2004 ) Washington, DC/Princeton, NJ – AMERICOM GOVERNMENT SERVICES, Inc. (AGS), a wholly owned subsidiary of SES AMERICOM, announced today it was awarded through its GSA schedule a contract with the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS). The initiative involves launching a new Pentagon Channel that is broadcast to Pentagon employees, military and federal personnel, and interested consumers in the United States. AFRTS was originally created to communicate Department of Defense (DoD) policies, priorities, programs, goals and initiatives as well as U.S. television and radio news, sports, information and entertainment programming to DoD service members, civilians and their families overseas and onboard U.S. Navy ships.

Under the five-year contract, AGS is delivering AFRTS content via the Pentagon Channel to military personnel, federal and defense employees, and to consumers via cable head ends across the United States. Programming is broadcast from the Pentagon to NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center where the signal is uplinked and delivered via AGS’ terrestrial SATCOM service facilities and SES AMERICOM satellite capacity. AGS is managing the end-to-end solution including the uplink, fiber, interconnect and space segment for the nationwide channel.

“AFRTS was looking for a proven leader in both Defense SATCOM solutions and video distribution, with the right satellite assets and expertise to get the channel up and running quickly and efficiently,” said AGS President and CEO David Helfgott. “AGS was able respond to their request with the solution and timetable they needed.”

All entertainment, news, sports and information programming is acquired and distributed by the AFRTS Broadcast Center based on its scheduling needs, the popularity of programs within the specific DoD audience demographics, and unique interests of military audiences. This is made possible by the cooperation and support of U.S. performing guilds, unions, and federations (dating back to World War II).

About AMERICOM GOVERNMENT SERVICES
AMERICOM GOVERNMENT SERVICES, Inc. (AGS) is an independent corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of SES AMERICOM, formed when SES GLOBAL (Euronext Paris, Luxembourg and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges: SESG) acquired GE AMERICOM. Leveraging a 30-year heritage of experience in the government SATCOM market, AGS offers comprehensive satellite-based communications solutions that enable federal agencies to extend secure broadband communications to fulfill both routine and mission-critical applications. With access to a fleet of 42 satellites, AGS’ full range of satellite services and end-to-end solutions allows for secure, reliable communications and comprehensive global coverage. AGS' reputation for operational excellence and highly reliable network solutions have been validated by long-term relationships with diverse government customers including, DoD, US Army, US Air Force, Department of Commerce/NOAA, Department of Justice, Department of the Interior, Department of Transportation, NASA, and other civilian and defense-related agencies. For more information, visit www.americom-gs.com.

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CONTACTS:
Monica Morgan, 1-609-987-4143
monica.morgan@ses-americom.com

Chris Parente, 1-301-408-4500
cparente@gotostrategic.com


Yves Feltes, 352-710-725-311
Yves.Feltes@ses-global.com

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