ROME, November 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
Poste Italiane and Eutelsat
Communications (NYSE Euronext Paris: ETL) today signed an agreement
that will significantly contribute to the digitalisation of
Italy and the reduction of the
digital divide. The agreement to commercialise the Tooway satellite
broadband service was signed by Massimo Sarmi, CEO of Poste Italiane and Michel de Rosen, Chairman and CEO of Eutelsat in
the framework of today's Franco-Italian bilateral summit in
Rome in the presence of
Enrico Letta, the Italian Prime
Minister and François Hollande, President of the French
Republic.
This new step transforms the broadband landscape in Italy where 2.37 million Italians in 3,600
towns and villages* are still unable to benefit from a quality
Internet connection for education, entertainment, communication and
e-commerce. The Tooway service will be available locally through
Poste Mobile in Poste Italiane
offices and through their business sellers, with the priority to
serve regions beyond range of terrestrial broadband from first
quarter 2014.
The Tooway service works in conjunction with Eutelsat's KA-SAT
satellite, enabling users to easily connect to the Internet
anywhere and benefit from download speeds of up to 20 Mbps and
upload speeds up to 6 Mbps. The service requires a small dish and a
satellite modem connected to a computer. The dish can be
self-installed or by one of the 4,000 installers across
Europe that have been trained and
certified by Eutelsat, of which over 1,000 are located in
Italy. Using the same dish, Tooway
also offers features that include multi-channel television and VoIP
for full triple play, as well as a wireless home network.
"This agreement with Eutelsat opens a new chapter in the Poste
Italiane's commitment to progressively bring digital services
across the country," said Massimo Sarmi at the signature. "The
Tooway technology will soon be available to connect large areas of
Italy unable to benefit from the
terrestrial broadband network. The goal of this partnership with
Eutelsat is to help reduce the digital divide and bring individuals
and businesses the opportunity to fully develop e-commerce and
cloud computing services."
Michel de Rosen added: "This is
another major step towards building a digital economy open to all
in Italy, leveraging the broadband
expertise of our Eutelsat Broadband unit. There is a strong history
of Franco-Italian co-operation in the space industry and we are
delighted to be working with Poste Mobile to use the latest
generation of satellite technology to address a very real broadband
challenge. We at Eutelsat are very proud of being at the forefront
of a Europe-wide effort to propel
our continent to the next level of the Digital Age."
Eutelsat benefited from the legal assistance of Alessandro Comini of BakerMcKenzie.
* According to the latest data from the Italian Ministry
of Economic Development (June 2013),
the percentage of Italian residents not covered by broadband
services through a landline or mobile broadband services (provided
by operators of third-generation, fourth-generation or WiMax
services) is 4% (Digital Divide index). This equates to 2.37
million Italian citizens in 3,600 locations where broadband is
unavailable or speeds are below 2 Mbps.
About Eutelsat Communications
With capacity commercialized on 31 satellites delivering reach
of Europe, the Middle East,
Africa, Asia, significant parts of the Americas and
the Asia-Pacific, Eutelsat
Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234) is
one of the world's leading satellite operators. As of 30 September 2013, Eutelsat's satellites were
broadcasting more than 4,700 television channels to over 200
million cable and satellite homes in Europe, the Middle
East and Africa. The
Group's satellites also provide a wide range of services for TV
contribution, corporate networks and fixed and mobile broadband
markets. Headquartered in Paris,
Eutelsat and its subsidiaries employ over 780 commercial, technical
and operational professionals from 30 countries. Eutelsat has a
longstanding presence in Italy
with two teleports in Turin and
Cagliari as well as support functions located in Turin, employing more than 150 people.
The company's HOT BIRD satellites already serve Italy's leading broadcasters, delivering 368
Italian TV channels to eight million homes across the country.
http://www.eutelsat.com
About Eutelsat Broadband
Eutelsat Broadband is the business unit of Eutelsat in charge of
providing satellite broadband services to residential and
professional markets, as well as to broadcasters across the
European continent and the southern rim of the Mediterranean Basin.
Its residential product tooway™ is the best in class satellite
broadband solution and a unique cost-effective alternative to
terrestrial access technologies in unserved and underserved areas,
with download speeds up to 20 Mbps and upload speeds up to 6 Mbps.
The connectivity needs of corporate customers and telcos are also
catered for through the KA-SAT Access product line and its VNO and
VPN solutions. Eutelsat Broadband also provides top-notch IP based
satellite newsgathering solutions with its NewsSpotter
service. Eutelsat Broadband reached the symbolic milestone of
100,000 active terminals on KA-SAT last August. For more
information, visit:
http://www.eutelsat.com/en/services/data/eutelsat-broadband.html.
Poste italiane
Poste Italiane's logistics and
technology infrastructure is the largest and most extensive in the
country, providing, in addition to postal services, integrated
communication, logistics, financial, insurance and mobile telephony
products and services to consumers, businesses and the public
sector throughout Italy. With its
network of post offices located throughout the country,
Poste Italiane serves over 37
million customers. Its widespread presence around the country,
extensive experience and use of new technologies, have enabled
Poste Italiane to play a leading
role in the process of economic and social development in
Italy.
PosteMobile
PosteMobile is the mobile operator of Poste Italiane Group. On
the market since the end of 2007, it currently has around 3 million
active customers.
PosteMobile develops and offers mobile information, transaction
and communication solutions, integrated with a portfolio of useful
services within the Poste Italiane Group.
PosteMobile's marketing proposition includes a set of
distinctive and unique services, both SIM-based and
application-based, combining traditional mobile-phone services with
innovative mobile financial services, covering m-banking,
m-payment, and m-commerce services.
SOURCE Poste Italiane and
Eutelsat Communications
