[SatNews] The Chief Executive Officers of Europe’s satellite operators met in Brussels for a Board meeting followed by the Annual General Meeting of ESOA, the European Satellite Operators Association.
The Board elected Eric Beranger, CEO of Astrium Services as Chairman of the Board. He will succeed Christodoulos Protopapas, CEO of HellasSat. Cato Halsaa, CEO of Telenor, was elected Vice-Chairman of the Board. Both appointments are for one-year. Beranger said, “I am very proud to take on the responsibility of leading ESOA for the coming year following the excellent leadership provided by Christodoulos in 2010. Satellite operators find themselves in an evolving political and regulatory environment with elements such as the preparation of the EU’s Space Policy or the implementation of the Digital Agenda for Europe. It is our responsibility to ensure that policy-makers really understand the advantages that satellites and their services have in terms of bringing information to people all over the world, especially where other communications means either cannot reach or may have collapsed, for instance, due to disaster. We must also make sure they have a clear understanding of the obstacles we face in trying to do this as ultimately the achievement of key public sector goals and the future of Europe’s strategic space sector is at stake.”
In the last few years, ESOA has been very active, working on regulatory issues, broadband, space policy and a range of other subjects essential to the satellite operators’ businesses. Current priorities for 2011 are to ensure that satellite communications are appropriately recognized in the upcoming EU Space Policy Program; that they are duly supported by EU institutions in making their vital contribution to ensuring 100 percent broadband coverage of the EU territory in support of the Digital Agenda for Europe, and that satellite operators secure access to key spectrum needed for future growth at next year’s World Radio Conference in Geneva. Many operators have made heavy investments recently in new satellites and payloads for a host of services from TV to broadband to professional mobile and emergency communications. ESOA continues to work closely with the European Commission, European Parliament, the European Space Agency and national regulators to secure understanding for and further its interests.
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