[Satnews] SES S.A. (NYSE Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) has signed a multi-year deal with Inter Media Group, Ukraine´s largest media group, for additional capacity to broadcast TV channels on ASTRA 4A at 5 degrees East.

In addition to its two leading channels, Inter and NTN, six additional channels of Inter Media Group will be distributed on ASTRA 4A pursuant to the new capacity agreements. SES reached a record number of 7,268 TV channels broadcast over the global satellite fleet at the end of 2015. This represented a significant channel growth of 11.3 percent over the last 12 months, compared with 2 percent for the rest of the satellite industry. This superior performance is benefiting from the continued globalization of SES’s video business and growth in emerging markets, including the Central and Eastern European region.

Additionally, SES S.A. has launched a new satellite data network, SES Plus, that will offer customized products and solutions to tackle the evolving needs of the markets.

By leveraging SES's partnership with O3b Networks and its Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites, in combination with SES's geostationary (GEO) widebeams and upcoming HTS payloads, the global satellite operator will be able to offer multiple solutions that will address the diverse needs of the data markets. SES will also continue to invest in ground infrastructure to ensure easy accessibility to space.

SES's first Plus product, Enterprise+ Broadband, was launched across five markets in Africa in November. Offering up to 1 Gbps of connectivity, it is a competitively priced flexible connectivity platform that has a plug and play offering, with pay-as-you-go options to ensure the service can go live quickly.

"Our expertise goes beyond providing services to video customers. Our new data network, SES Plus, highlights the strengths of SES as a data satellite operator. We go beyond building a new ground infrastructure and new satellite architecture of GEO, MEO and HTS beams, to deepening collaboration with our customers to design customised and differentiated products that will enable them to excel in their markets,” said Ferdinand Kayser, Chief Commercial Officer at SES. “The first Plus product is already out in the market, and already we are hearing positive feedback about how this high-speed broadband platform is essential to the countries in which we are operating. That aside, our teams are working around the clock to develop more much-needed customised products to deliver more connectivity.”