New Skies Satellites signs with Congolese government for satellite-based television broadcasting and domestic telecommunication services


The Hague, The Netherlands, April 9, 2001: New Skies Satellites, (AEX, NYSE: NSK), the global satellite communications company, has signed a contract with the Democratic Republic of Congo for a total of 36 Megahertz of capacity for television broadcasting and domestic telecommunication services.

Under the terms of the contract, New Skies will provide the satellite capacity for a period of up to eight years on its NSS 703 satellite. This satellite, located at 57 degrees east is a multi-purpose satellite that can provide an enormous range of services, reflecting the complexity of the television and telecommunications needs of its multiple regions.

To emphasize the value of the contract the Congolese Minister of Communications, His Excellency Mr. Dominique Sakombi Inongo and the Congolese Minister of Post Telephony and Telecommunications, His Excellency Mr. Jean Yagi Sitolo, came to New Skies Headquarters in The Hague, The Netherlands to personally sign this contract.

“We are delighted to be working with the Congolese Government and to participate in the development of Information and Communications Technologies in the Democratic Republic of Congo”, said Rudo Jockin, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for New Skies.

About New Skies Satellites N.V.

New Skies is a global satellite communications company with five satellites in geosynchronous orbit and ground facilities around the world. New Skies has three new satellites under construction, one due for launch in late 2001 over the Atlantic Ocean Region, a second in late 2002 over Asia , and a third in late 2003 over the Americas. Headquartered in The Hague, The Netherlands, and with offices in London, New Delhi, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Sydney and Washington, DC, New Skies is one of only three fixed satellite services companies with truly global satellite coverage. New Skies offers video, voice, data and Internet communications services to a range of telecommunications carriers, broadcasters, large corporations and Internet service providers around the world. In the line with its growth strategy, New Skies has secured rights to make use of six additions orbital positions and continues to broaden and diversify its customer base and to expand its provision of value-added, bundled communications services.

By combining its satellite resources with terrestrial communications facilities, New Skies plans to provide a broadening range of state-of-the-art, value-added, high quality satellite communications services. New Skies’ fastest growing revenue stream comes from data transmissions, including Internet traffic and corporate networks. New Skies estimates that approximately 61% of new business in 2000 was for Internet services. The company completed its Initial Public Offering in Octobert 2000, listing on both the Euronext Amsterdam exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.

Additional information is available at http://www.newskies.com.



For more information, please contact:
Daniëlle Keukenmeester, Corporate Communications, New Skies Satellites
Tel: +31 70 306 4227, dkeukenmeester@newskies.com