PanAmSat Invests in Pegaso Banda Ancha as Broadband Takes off in Mexico and Across Latin America

PanAmSat Joins Grupo PEGASO to Bring Internet and Other Broadband Services to Mexico by Satellite 


MEXICO CITY, March 13  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PanAmSat (NYSE:PA) announced today that it has made an equity investment and intends to grow its relationship with Mexico's Pegaso Banda Ancha, a Grupo PEGASO company. Launched in February 2005, Pegaso Banda Ancha provides direct and flexible Internet connectivity to both corporate -- including Internet Service Providers (ISP) -- and residential markets throughout Mexico.

Making the announcement in Mexico City, PanAmSat CEO Joe Wright said, "We are always exploring innovative ways to bring badly-needed connectivity to Mexico. This relationship with Pegaso Banda Ancha is the result of our nearly six-year-old joint venture with Grupo PEGASO and enables us to play a significant role in the broadband revolution going across the region."

Hosted on PanAmSat's PAS-1R satellite, Pegaso Banda Ancha offers residential customers and corporations high-speed Internet access and IP interconnectivity via satellite at a price that is directly competitive with similar terrestrial offerings.

"Prior to PanAmSat's equity investment in Pegaso Banda Ancha, we already enjoyed an excellent business relationship with the Company, utilizing PanAmSat's PAS-1R as the means to provide Pegaso Band Ancha's services in Mexico," said Javier Braun Burillo, CEO, Pegaso Banda Ancha.  "We're delighted to expand our relationship with PanAmSat through this investment in our company and in our future."

Grupo PEGASO and PanAmSat aligned in 2000 to form PanAmSat de Mexico, Mexico's first service provider authorized to use non-Mexican satellites, which provides video, data and Internet services as well as broadband capacity to customers throughout Mexico.

Through the expansion of the joint venture, PanAmSat also has had an instrumental role in Mexico's Enciclomedia program, a government-sponsored Internet connectivity service for elementary schools.  This service will deliver Internet connectivity to over 13,000 elementary schools in the country. PanAmSat was also the first FSS operator to supply space segment to the e-Mexico program, which brings Internet connectivity to 3200 locations within 2445 municipalities across Mexico.  Through the e-Mexico service, citizens across the country can access Internet-based government, education, business and healthcare applications.

Added Wright, "Mexico and the Latin American market are areas with which our company has a very long and rich history. Customers such as Televisa, TV Azteca, Caminos y Puentes Federales de Ingresos (CAPUFE) the Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT), Telecomunicaciones de Mexico, Comsat and Multivision have utilized PanAmSat's fleet for television program delivery as well as VSAT data services in Mexico and throughout the world for many years. We hope that through our investment in Pegaso Banda Ancha that Mexico and the entire region will begin to enjoy even more advanced communications services."

PanAmSat's PAS-1R Atlantic Ocean Region spacecraft is a Boeing 702, one of the world's largest, most powerful commercial geostationary satellites. With 72 transponders, it offers an expanded and enhanced reach throughout the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe and Africa. The Atlanta teleport is PanAmSat's primary satellite transmissions gateway to Africa, Europe, Latin America and North America. It provides crucial turnaround services between the Atlantic Ocean Region and the U.S.

About Grupo PEGASO

Grupo PEGASO is a Mexican consortium headed by Alejandro Burillo Azcarraga that is involved in key activities such as telecommunications, banking, real estate, media content, sports and culture. Grupo PEGASO started operations in 1994 having set as its main objective the merging of technology and telecommunications for the country's development. As of today, Grupo PEGASO holds investments in more than 30 noteworthy national and international companies.

About PanAmSat de Mexico

PanAmSat de Mexico is a Mexican company that is 49 percent owned by PanAmSat Corporation and 51 percent owned by Corporativo W.com, S. de R.L. de C.V., a holding company created by Mr. Alejandro Burillo, majority owner of the private equity investment firm Grupo Pegaso. PanAmSat de Mexico has offices in Mexico City, Mexico, and is the exclusive provider of PanAmSat satellite services within Mexico.

About PanAmSat

Through its owned and operated fleet of 2 satellites, PanAmSat (NYSE:PA) is a leading global provider of video, broadcasting and network distribution and delivery services. It transmits nearly 2,000 television channels worldwide and, as such, is the leading carrier of standard and high-definition signals. In total, the Company's in-orbit fleet is capable of reaching over 98 percent of the world's population through cable television systems, broadcast affiliates, direct-to-home operators, Internet service providers and telecommunications companies. In addition, PanAmSat supports the largest concentration of satellite-based business networks in the U.S., as well as specialized communications services in remote areas throughout the world.  For more information, visit the Company's Web site at http://www.panamsat.com/. 

DATASOURCE: PanAmSat



CONTACT:  Kathryn Lancioni of Panamsat, [phone]



Web site:  http://www.panamsat.com/ 

Copyright