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February 2008

ST Electronics’ US Satcom Company, iDirect Together With Sea Tel Integrates Technologies To Extend Intelsat’s Global Maritime Broadband Service

Singapore, 26 February 2008 — Singapore Technologies Electronics Limited’s (ST Electronics), US satellite communications company, Direct Inc (iDirect), today announced that it will provide a platform that will offer an enhancement of Intelsat’s Network Broadband Global Maritime service.  iDirect, together with Sea Tel Inc., the leading provider of marine stabilized antenna systems for satellite communications and satellite television at sea, and Intelsat Ltd., the leading provider of commercial satellite services, will offer the enhanced service that will enable a broader sector to take advantage of communication services at sea.

The Intelsat offering, built on iDirect’s Intelligent Platform™, now operates on Sea Tel’s 9707 C-band antenna, extending global broadband service to Sea Tel customers across the commercial shipping, military, oil and gas, cruise and yacht industries.

The integrated solution combines Sea Tel’s widely used 2.4 meter global maritime antenna with iDirect’s automatic beam switching technology and global network management features. As a marine vessel crosses Intelsat’s satellite footprints, the iDirect technology automatically re-establishes the remote and antenna onto a new beam or network providing seamless global connectivity. The challenges of maritime operations demands always-on connectivity, and Intelsat’s Network Broadband Global Maritime service provides a cost-effective solution for linking operations at sea to land-based corporate networks, resulting in improved crew welfare and business operations. 

Including Sea Tel as one of our distributors will bring Intelsat’s Network Broadband Global Maritime service to its existing and future customer base. Sea Tel will enable our solution to expand into growing maritime sectors, such as cruise ships and luxury yachts.

Jay YASS
Vice President, Network Services, Intelsat

Sea Tel is proud to be partnering with iDirect and Intelsat to make broadband connectivity more accessible to the maritime industry. This is an important new offering for our customers, especially as they seek to replace by-the-minute plans with services that provide constant connectivity.

Peter BROADHURST
Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Sea Tel

As satellite broadband becomes the de facto standard for communications at sea, the maritime industry is seeking heightened connectivity that can be seamlessly maintained around the world. The iDirect platform was engineered to achieve this and we are proud to join Intelsat and Sea Tel in advancing a truly global maritime network.

David BETTINGER
Chief Technology Officer, iDirect

Sea Tel Inc is a marine stabilized antenna manufacturer founded in 1979 and based in Concord, California, USA. There are additional offices in Southampton, UK; Bergen, Norway and Florida, USA. Sea Tel manufacturers marine antennas in L, S, X, C, Ku and Ka band for receive and transmit/receive applications. Distribution is through an approved and trained global dealer network. For more information go to www.seatel.com or contact pbroadhurst@seatel.com

Intelsat is the leading provider of fixed satellite services (FSS) worldwide and is the leading provider of these services to each of the media, network services and government customer sectors, enabling people and businesses everywhere constant access to information and entertainment. Intelsat offers customers a greater business potential by providing them access to unrivaled resources with ease of business and peace of mind. An extensive customer base, including some of the world’s leading media and communications companies, multinational corporations, Internet service providers and government/military organizations, utilizes our services. Real-time, constant communication with people anywhere in the world is closer, by far. For more information go to www.intelsat.com.

iDirect, designs, develops, and markets satellite-based broadband access solutions targeted at the enterprise, government, carrier and educational sectors that have the need for fast, flexible, and geographically dispersed two-way internet/intranet access. The company has developed technology solutions that combine high performance, worldwide availability, and ease of installation, high reliability, and low cost to end customers. In addition, iDirect solutions offer unprecedented efficiencies, increased revenue opportunities and higher per customer gross margins to satellite network operators. iDirect was awarded the 2005 World Teleport Association Teleport Technology of the Year, the Innovation & Technology of the Year by The ISCe Advisory Board, and named number one in the Deloitte & Touche Virginia Technology Fast 50 list of the fastest-growing U.S. technology companies. iDirect operates its corporate headquarters in Herndon, Virginia and has regional offices in Europe, Asia, and covering Latin America. Additional information is available on the company website at www.idirect.net.

ST Electronics, the electronics arm of ST Engineering, delivers innovative system solutions to government, commercial, defence, and industrial customers worldwide. It specialises in the design, development and integration of advanced electronics systems, such as broadband radio frequency and satellite communication, e-government solutions, information communications technologies, rail and traffic management, realtime command & control, training and simulation, intelligent building management, information security solutions and managed services. Please visit www.stee.stengg.com.

Media contact:

Magdalen Loh
AVP / Head, Corporate Communications
Singapore Technologies Electronics Limited
Tel: (65) 6413 1788 / 9822 3321
Fax: (65) 6484 8840
Email: magloh@stee.stengg.com