BETZDORF, Luxembourg--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 6, 2006--SES ASTRA, an SES GLOBAL company (PINK SHEETS:SGBAF - News; BOURSE:SESG) (LuxX:SESG), has announced today a new contract with French Pay-TV group CANAL+. The agreement allows CANAL+ to use a transponder on the prime orbital position 19.2 degrees East for the transmission of content in High Definition (HD). CANAL+ in HD has been launched on 30 March on ASTRA while National Geographic HD will be launched in June 2006 on CANALSAT.

"This new contract further strengthens our commercial relationship with one of the most important Pay-TV broadcasters in Europe and our main customer in France", said Ferdinand Kayser, President and CEO of SES ASTRA. "We are very pleased that CANAL+ has decided to extend its satellite capacity on ASTRA to launch its first HD offer in France. Together with our new activities, we are broadcasting 8 HD programmes on ASTRA 19.2 degrees East. This is a proof for the rapid development of this technological innovation in Europe."

About SES ASTRA www.ses-astra.com

The ASTRA Satellite System is the leading Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite system in Europe, delivering services to some 107 million Direct-to-Home and cable households. The ASTRA satellite fleet currently comprises 13 satellites, transmitting in excess of 1600 analogue and digital television and radio channels as well as multimedia and Internet services. ASTRA's two prime orbital positions for DTH services are 19.2 degrees East and 28.2 degrees East. Professional services such as Direct-to cable (DTC), Satellite Newsgathering (SNG) and Occasional Use are offered from the orbital position of 23.5 degrees East.

SES ASTRA is an SES GLOBAL company (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG). SES ASTRA is an SES GLOBAL company. SES GLOBAL wholly owns three market-leading satellite operators, SES ASTRA in Europe, SES AMERICOM in the US and New Skies Satellites in the rest of the world. The Company also holds strategic participations in AsiaSat in Asia, Star One in Latin America and SES Sirius in Europe. Americom Government Services provides network solutions and bandwidth to the US government and its contractors. SES GLOBAL provides outstanding satellite communications solutions via a fleet of 43 satellites across the globe. Additional info on SES GLOBAL at: www.ses-global.com.

SES ASTRA
Markus Payer, + 352 710 725 500
markus.payer@ses-astra.com