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XTAR AWARDED MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT TO PROVIDE DIPLOMATIC COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES FOR THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
XTAR To Enable State Department DTS-PO Communications
Throughout Africa and Asia
ROCKVILLE, MD - May 11, 2005 - XTAR, LLC today announced that it has been awarded a contract with the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Telecommunications Service Program Office (DTS-PO), Fairfax, Va., to provide X-band communications services to embassies and consulates in Africa and Asia. The five-year contract has an estimated maximum value of up to $137 million. XTAR is a joint venture between Loral Space & Communications and HISDESAT.
Bernard L. Schwartz, chairman and CEO, Loral Space & Communications, commented, "XTAR's agreement with the State Department will provide for the first use of XTAR by the U.S. Government, an important milestone in validating Loral's innovative investment in XTAR's commercial X-band service model. Through our unique collaboration with HISDESAT, we're proud to be able to provide the U.S. Government with this new, previously unavailable commercial X-band service in such a critical part of the world."
"XTAR is designed to offset a portion of the ever growing shortfalls in bandwidth for military and government agency communications by providing a cost-effective commercial augmentation to the government's X-band satellites," said Denis Curtin, chief operating officer, XTAR, LLC. "XTAR will allow DTS-PO to use its currently installed X-band terminals, maintain assured communication access and increase the system's performance through the powerful XTAR-EUR satellite."
The Diplomatic Telecommunications Service provides communications services for U.S. Government activities at diplomatic and consular missions worldwide. The DTS Network provides responsive, reliable, secure, and cost-effective telecommunications services to users at more than 260 sites around the world, representing nearly 50 U.S. Government entities.
Built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), XTAR-EUR was launched in February 2005 aboard an Ariane 5 ECA rocket. Located at 29 degrees East longitude, the satellite carries twelve 72 MHz high-power X-band transponders that provide coverage from Eastern Brazil and the Atlantic Ocean, across all of Europe, Africa and the Middle East to as far east as Singapore. XTAR-EUR is expected to provide service for nearly 20 years.
The XTAR-EUR satellite features traditional global beams as well as on-board switching and multiple steerable beams, allowing users access to X-band capacity as they travel anywhere within the footprint of the satellite. XTAR-EUR is designed to work with existing X-band terminals, as well as next generation X-band terminals that feature antennas smaller than 2.4 meters.
XTAR, LLC is a new satellite communications company committed to serving the long-haul communications, logistics and infrastructure requirements of the U.S., Spanish and allied governments. The company is a joint venture between Loral Space & Communications, which owns 56 percent, and HISDESAT, which owns 44 percent. XTAR is headquartered in Rockville, Md., and has offices in Arlington, Va., Palo Alto, Calif. and Madrid, Spain. For more information, visit XTAR's web site at http://www.xtarllc.com.
HISDESAT Servicios Estrategicos S.A. is a Spanish company headquartered in Madrid. HISDESAT's aims are the acquisition, operation and commercialization of Government-oriented space systems, beginning with satellite communications in the X- and Ka-band frequencies. HISDESAT is owned jointly by HISPASAT, S.A., the Spanish commercial satellite services company, INSA and the leaders of Spain's space industries: EADS-CASA Espacio, INDRA and SENER. HISDESAT will provide enhanced capabilities, including Ka-band, for Spain's defense applications.
Loral Space & Communications is a satellite communications company. Its Space Systems/Loral division is a world-class leader in the design and manufacture of satellites and satellite systems for commercial and government applications including direct-to-home television, broadband communications, wireless telephony, weather monitoring and air traffic management. Through its Loral Skynet division, it owns and operates a fleet of telecommunications satellites used to broadcast video entertainment programming, distribute broadband data, and provide access to Internet services and other value-added communications services. For more information, visit Loral's web site at www.loral.com.
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This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In addition, Loral Space & Communications Ltd. or its representatives have made or may make forward-looking statements, orally or in writing, which may be included in, but are not limited to, various filings made by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, press releases or oral statements made with the approval of an authorized executive officer of the company. Actual results could differ materially from those projected or suggested in any forward-looking statements as a result of a wide variety of factors and conditions. These factors include those related to the filing, on July 15, 2003 by Loral and certain of its subsidiaries, of voluntary petitions for reorganization under chapter 11 of title 11 of the United States Code in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and parallel insolvency proceedings in the Supreme Court of Bermuda in which certain partners of KPMG were appointed as joint provisional liquidators. Additional factors and conditions are also described in the section of the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004, entitled "Commitments and Contingencies," and the company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The reader is specifically referred to these documents.
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