The move gives SES additional satellite capacity to serve the Russian market and as part of the agreement the company well relocate its ASTRA 1F satellite in order to provide communication services in western Russia ahead of the arrival of GSS' Yamal-402 satellite in November 2012. Following its launch, SES will in turn use capacity on Yamal-402.
GSS intends to use existing capacity on ASTRA 1F and future capacity on Yamal-402 to deliver a wider range of services, including broadband access and mobile backhaul.
Romain Bausch, president and CEO of SES, commented: "The agreement to move ASTRA 1F over Russia demonstrates SES' capability to quickly respond to market demands and highlights the advantage of a global and flexible satellite fleet."
The partnership marks a period of continued growth for SES, which also signed an agreement in August with satellite technology provider Newtec to add next-generation technology to its European satellite broadband network ASTRA2Connect.
In May, SES partnered with interconnection provider YellowSat to enable access on SES’ satellite and increase internet connectivity across Africa.
