Worldspace Satellite
Radio Receives Terrestrial Repeater Network Approval from
Switzerland
(20 March 2008) Worldspace Satellite
Radio, one of the world leaders in satellite-based digital radio services,
today announced it has received approval from Switzerland's Office
Fédéral de la Communication (OFCOM) to operate terrestrial
repeaters that will work in conjunction with its existing satellite network to
provide Swiss consumers with a subscription-based satellite radio
service.
Worldspace Satellite Radio will use the 12.5 MHz of
L-band frequency (1479.5 to 1492 MHz) harmonised for satellite radio in Europe
and for which Worldspace has priority rights throughout Europe, the Middle East
and Africa. The Company plans to offer a mobile service as early as 2009 on the
continent, beginning with Italy; and in Bahrain and United Arab Emirates (UAE)
- places where Worldspace has already received authorisation to launch its
satellite/terrestrial hybrid radio service.
The Company's European
strategy is to roll out its service on a sequential country-by-country basis,
beginning with Italy, where aftermarket radios are expected to be available to
consumers in early 2009 and OEM (factory installed) radios in several Fiat
models by late 2009. In addition to Italy and now Switzerland, the Company
expects to secure four more licenses in 2008, from the other major European
markets.
"We are very pleased at the efficiency with which the OFCOM has
granted us this approval," said Noah A. Samara, Chairman and CEO of Worldspace
Satellite Radio. "As we begin planning the content line-up for our Italian
launch and subsequent European markets we hope to secure shortly, including the
UK, Germany, Spain and France, we hope to be able to parlay our unique variety
of news, sports, music and entertainment programming into a line-up that is
equally attractive to Switzerland's diverse cultures."
Although not
large, the Swiss market is attractive for satellite radio, given the
demographics that fit its early adopter profile. For example, it has a
population that exceeds 7.5 million, with a per capita GDP of approximately
39,800 USD - a figure that is larger than that of each of the 'big five'
European countries targeted for service by Worldspace. The three main
ethnicities and official languages of Switzerland are: German (65%), French
(20%) and Italian (10%). It is home to the international banking community,
various United Nations departments and multiple international business
conglomerations and thus home to a large expatriate population. There are
approximately four million automobiles in the country with new car sales
expected to rise to about 320,000 in 2010.
Worldspace continues to
execute against its business plan for Europe, with numerous milestones achieved
over the past year. The Company recently selected Delphi to design the first
Worldspace satellite radio mobile receivers (aftermarket and OEM) for Europe;
Fiat Group Automobiles has signed on as the first manufacturer to install and
distribute Worldspace satellite radios in Italy; Fraunhofer IIS is developing
the receiver reference design for the radios; and Certicom's conditional access
system has been selected for security of the Company's broadcast services.
Worldspace also participated in the development of the standard for satellite
digital radio (SDR) adopted by the European Telecommunications Standards
Institute (ETSI) in December 2006. This standard is at the core of Worldspace's
technology and permits the most efficient use of the allocated spectrum,
maximising digital capacity while maintaining excellent service quality, even
in difficult reception environments such as urban centres.
About
Worldspace Satellite Radio
Based in the Washington, DC metropolitan
area, Worldspace, Inc. is the world's only global media and entertainment
company positioned to offer a satellite radio experience to consumers in more
than 130 countries with five billion people, driving 300 million cars.
Worldspace delivers the latest tunes, trends and information from around the
world and around the corner. Worldspace subscribers benefit from a unique
combination of local programming, original Worldspace content and content from
leading brands around the globe including the BBC, CNN International, Virgin
Radio UK, and RFI.
Worldspace's satellites cover two-thirds of the
earth's population with six beams. Each beam is capable of delivering up to 80
channels of high quality digital audio and multimedia programming directly to
Worldspace Satellite Radios anytime and virtually anywhere in its coverage
areas. Worldspace is a pioneer of satellite-based digital radio services (DARS)
and was instrumental in the development of the technology infrastructure used
today by XM Satellite Radio.
(source: Worldspace)
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