Advanced Television

France encourages satellite broadband

March 16, 2015

By Chris Forrester

March 13th was a good day for satellite operators in that the French government announced a series of measures designed to supply and improve broadband connectivity into French rural areas.

Investment bank Exane BNP-Paribas, in a note to clients on March 16th, said this was good news for satellite operators Eutelsat and SES.

“We believe Eutelsat (and its KA-SAT satellite in particular) as well as SES (with AstraConnect) are well placed to benefit. While the government announcement is light on numbers, it underpins our view that satellite operators face new market opportunities in Government services in particular. After years of decline (driven by military budget cuts), we expect Government revenues (c.8 per cent -10 per cent of SES and Eutelsat group revenues) to gradually improve, partly driven by civilian applications,” said the bank.

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