Eutelsat Reiterates Its Support for Télécoms Sans Frontières by Becoming the NGO's Sponsor

• Fifteen years of support from Eutelsat to deliver emergency connectivity services to TSF around the world
• Satellite communication serving emergency response telecoms, a powerful example of the Group's social responsibility

PARIS & PAU, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:

Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) (Paris:ETL), one of the largest global satellite operators, and Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF), the world’s first NGO focusing on emergency aid telecommunications, today announced the inking of a multi-year sponsorship deal that follows on from a previous long-term partnership agreement between the two companies initiated in 2007. Eutelsat’s Chief Executive Officer Eva Berneke and Jean-François Cazenave, TSF's Chairman, met at Eutelsat's headquarters to set out further initiatives to be conducted as part of this close collaborative relationship.

TSF with missions in more than 70 countries

Télécoms Sans Frontières is a non-governmental organisation headquartered in Pau, France, with two regional sites in Asia and South America. Its role is to bring back connectivity and raise awareness and protect communities in various emergency situations by providing them with advanced technological solutions for communication and access to information.

With their unique deployment capacity, TSF's teams can be operational in any part of the world within 24 hours of being notified of a humanitarian crisis situation. TSF's assistance is built on a combination of direct assistance to the affected communities and support for connectivity to humanitarian coordination centres, using best-in-class technologies, in particular satellite infrastructure.

Fifteen years working together in the field

With logistic support from Eutelsat since 2007, this NGO of truly global scope has been able to equip communities and crisis units with broadband links for data, image and voice communications within a few hours. For several years now, Eutelsat has successfully partnered with TSF in large-scale conflict areas and natural disaster zones to coordinate the various relief efforts in the field. Now a sponsor of TSF, Eutelsat is stepping up its financial support, helping the NGO to strengthen its capacity in order to rise to the communications challenges associated with emergency aid.

Eva Berneke, Eutelsat's Chief Executive Officer, commented: "In emergency and disaster situations, satellite connectivity often remains the only viable solution for restoring critical communications services for communities and local and global humanitarian responders as quickly as possible. Our partnership with TSF is an integral part of our corporate responsibility in the area of emergency telecoms. We are delighted to further contribute to the activities of this outstanding NGO.”

Jean-François Cazenave, Chairman of Télécoms sans frontières, added: “For 15 years, Eutelsat's unfailing support has enabled TSF to set up critical satellite-based connections during major humanitarian emergencies around the world, from natural disasters to major conflicts and mass population displacements. The strong cooperation between TSF's teams in the field and Eutelsat's departments has enhanced TSF's response capacity. This combination of capabilities enables us to serve the connectivity requirements of governmental authorities, United Nations agencies and humanitarian organisations with technologies that are most effective and best suited to their needs. When disaster strikes, it is in the early days that the largest number of lives can be saved. Through our joint efforts, we are delivering Communications for life.”

About Télécoms Sans Frontières

Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) was founded in 1998 as the world’s first NGO focusing on emergency-response technologies. During humanitarian crises we give affected people the possibility to contact their loved ones and begin to regain control of their lives, as well as we build rapid-response communications centres for local and international responders.

Thanks to 20 years of experience in the field, our high-skilled technical team adapts and tweaks existing tools to respond to different crises and beneficiaries’ needs in the ever evolving humanitarian context. From its early days, the culture of first emergency response has been core to TSF’s identity, but we have grown and evolved as the role of technologies in emergencies has expanded.

In parallel to this core activity, we also develop, adapt, and make available innovative and cost-effective solutions to assist migrants, refugees, displaced people and other disadvantaged communities in different areas, including education, healthcare, women’s rights and food security.

TSF is a member of the United Nations Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (UNETC), a partner of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and a member of the US State Department’s Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy.

Since its creation, TSF responded to over 150 crises in more than 70 countries providing communication means to over 20 million people and nearly 1,000 NGOs.

For more information about TSF: tsfi.org ; Tel.: [phone] ; [e-mail]

About Eutelsat Communications

Founded in 1977, Eutelsat Communications is one of the world's leading satellite operators. With a global fleet of satellites and associated ground infrastructure, Eutelsat enables clients across Video, Data, Government, Fixed and Mobile Broadband markets to communicate effectively to their customers, irrespective of their location. Around 7,000 television channels operated by leading media groups are broadcast by Eutelsat to one billion viewers equipped for DTH reception or connected to terrestrial networks. Committed to promoting all facets of sustainable development across its business activities, Eutelsat leverages its in-orbit resources to help bridge the digital divide while maintaining a safe and uncluttered space environment. As an attractive and socially responsible employer, Eutelsat assembles 1,200 men and women from 50 countries who are dedicated to delivering the highest quality of service.

For more about Eutelsat go to www.eutelsat.com