VTC Chooses AsiaSat 5 for New DTH Service in Vietnam

HONG KONG — Asia’s leading satellite operator Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat) and Vietnam Multimedia Corporation (VTC), Vietnam’s leading national broadcaster and operator in digital broadcasting, today announced the signing of a lease agreement for the use of multiple Ku-band transponders on AsiaSat 5 for a new premium Direct-to-Home (DTH) service in Vietnam.

VTC will use the transponder capacity in early 2010 to provide a brand new DTH television service, distributing up to 30 High Definition (HD) and 70 Standard Definition (SD) television channels to households in Vietnam. The new VTC’s DTH package on AsiaSat 5 will offer a wide variety of premium content ranging from sports, entertainment to technology and lifestyle, addressing the interests of the Vietnamese public.

Dr. Thai Minh Tan, General Director of VTC said, “AsiaSat 5 provides powerful coverage to enhance our DTH service to our home market and the transponder capacity to expand our line-up of HD and SD premium television channels to viewers across the country. We are grateful to partner AsiaSat who can support our aggressive plan to further diversify our range of digital TV services to enhance the viewing experience of the Vietnamese consumers.”

Peter Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of AsiaSat said, “We are very pleased to have VTC as our long-term partner for DTH services to Vietnam. AsiaSat 5 is our latest high performance satellite launched this year and it will play a significant role in the DTH development of the country. We look forward to expanding our services in Vietnam, a fast growing economy of over 80 million people, with reliable and high quality satellite television when VTC launches its services on AsiaSat 5.”