Eutelsat director general invites Malta to use satellite technology

by Anna Maria Bartolo

It is possible that the University of Malta and the Tal-Qroqq hospital will be included in a satellite environmental network.

Eutelsat's director general Giuliano Berretta invited Malta to include the university and the new hospital on the network because he foresaw "great opportunities" for the island through satellite technology.

He was speaking to The Malta Business Weekly after a press conference at the Westin Dragonara Resort on Monday. The network will be set up by leading satellite operator Outlast in a few months' time.

It will link several core communities, most of them Italian, together by satellite.

Mr Berretta said satellite technology could give Malta the opportunity to improve its relations with nearly 100 countries including Eastern Europe and Africa.

Malta's strategic location was very good and permitted the development of international e-business centres, he remarked. He referred to the interest which the Maltese government has shown in e-business which could benefit from broadband facilities.

Mr Berretta and other Eutelsat's representatives are in Malta until tomorrow, having been invited by the Maltese government to hold their general meeting for shareholders on the island.

A number of satellite-delivered services of value to the Maltese market are on display. These services include "emsat", a mobile telephony service providing voice, data, fax, messaging and positioning services connected to the switched network.

The demonstration in Malta will show emsat's value for maritime and land-based emergency communications.

The Eutelsat delegation is also showing the possibilities offered by "Telemedicine", a pay-per-use satellite-based network for telemedicine applications.

Satellite videoconferencing is being demonstrated, using Eutelsat's new bandwidth-on-demand solution called "D-SAT". Local applications would include links between ministries and embassies as well as international organisations of which Malta is a member.

Two personal computers equipped for high-speed Internet via satellite are also on display to show the speed and bandwidth provided by Eutelsat satellites and the suitability of satellite-based solutions for international connectivity.

Malta is one of Eutelsat's 48 European shareholders which took part in last Monday's general meeting to discuss the privatisation of the Paris-based intergovernmental organisation which will take place within one year.

Eutelsat's most important signatories and users include Telecom Italia (20.38 per cent), France Telecom (20.02 per cent), British Telecom (19.7 per cent), Deutsche Telekom (10.02 per cent), KPN (4.72 per cent), Belgacom (3.48 per cent) and Telefonica (2.42 per cent).

Eutelsat manages an international system comprising 17 satellites in geostationary orbit providing full coverage of Europe, Africa, large parts of Asia and connectivity with America.

It broadcasts 700 television channels and 45 radio channels to more than 81 million satellite and cable homes. Eutelsat's system is used for corporate networks, Internet connections and mobile communications.

Another three satellites were recently added to Eutelsat's in-orbit resource. Eutelsat's satellites also carry thousands of private business communication networks, are in constant use for satellite newsgathering, route telephony and offer mobile voice, data and positioning services.

By the end of June Eutelsat's in-orbit satellite resource comprised almost 300 Ku-band transponders on 17 satellites. Three satellites were added in only six weeks.

The organisation's total turnover for 1999 was 496 million euros. This is expected to rise to more than 620 million euros by the end of this year.