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Europe Online and BT Broadcast Services sign Strategic Cooperation Agreement
to bring affordable, attractive Broadband Internet, DSL, and Multi-Media Services to the Mass-Consumer Market
Luxembourg, 21 November 2002
Europe Online, operator and owner of one of the world’s first and largest Broadband Internet via Satellite networks, announced today that it has entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with BT Broadcast Services to build the Broadband Internet, DSL, and Multi-Media Services for the Mass-Consumer Market via satellite and cable across Europe and the world. BT Broadcast Services is the satellite arm of BT plc,(British Telecom), one of the largest telecommunications operators in the world. One of the recently stated corporate goals of the BT group is “to put broadband at the heart of BT, expand the market for broadband services and create a media-enabled network”.
Under the terms of the signed agreement, both parties will pool their past, present and future work to bring affordable, attractive Broadband Internet, DSL, and Multi-Media Services to the development of the broadband digital converged market, be it on the PC or the TV, to the mass-consumer in the home. In particular, this work includes multicast applications, email, profiling, Set Top Boxes, Electronic Wallets, Billing, Smart Cards, intelligent interactive web design and development, digital libraries; caching, network configuration and routing, reception equipment for the PC, USB, TV and home servers, market development, and content aggregation – all applications and technologies which need to be presented in an enjoyable, entertaining, easy-to-use service to the end-user, something which broadband and DSL users are missing today.
Both parties are also desiring to extend and develop their geographic market and reach, in particular but not limited to continental Europe and the U.K. As such, BT Broadcast will make available satellite capacity and up-linking/infrastructure services to the joint BT Broadcast/Europe Online market. Europe Online has today almost 60,000 registered users for their broadband satellite service and BT Broadcast Services has one of the largest commercial storage networks in the world, serving numerous clients around the world. BT is a shareholder of Eutelsat and Intelsat and has satellite capacity on the ASTRA satellite system at 19.2 degrees East as well. Europe Online will bring its entire interactive, digital broadband converged network technology, content aggregation, intellectual property, marketing, content convergence platform, and software and hardware development to the common goal.
Further, it is the aim of BT Broadcast and Europe Online to jointly develop and monetize applications to develop the market and the joint undertaking. In particular, this will be in the realm of Digital Set-Top Boxes to bring Broadband Internet into the home on TV¨’s and PC’s as well as to further develop the Video on Demand, Bandwidth on Demand, Streaming, and off-line, multicast products Europe Online has made its name with.
The announcement of the strategic cooperation with BT follows announcements of other recent deals struck by Europe Online in the past weeks, including a major distribution deal with Kabel Deutschland enabling the major German cable network operator to provide broadband, DSL, and interactive services to its customers across Germany from one day to the next with a minimum of investment. Europe Online has recently consistently been placed number one in major consumer tests for satellite and cable DSL and Broadband in Germany, be it “Tomorrow, “ ”c’T”, “PC Praxis” or “Online Today”.
For more information, please contact:
| Europe Online Investments S.A. |
BT Broadcast Services |
| Candace Johnson |
Harry Formosa, Head of Corporate Business |
| Tel. +352 719 785 1 |
Tel. +44 207 406 8078 |
| E-Mail: cj@europeonline.net |
E-Mail: Harold.Formosa@bt.com |
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