MADRID, April 23 /PRNewswire/ -- ONDAS Media, the satellite radio company for Europe, has today announced
that it has entered into an extensive Framework Agreement with the State of
the Netherlands as represented by the Radio Communications Agency
Netherlands, completing another key component of its regulatory
strategy. The agreement provides ONDAS Media with exclusive rights to
construct, launch and locate up to two geostationary satellites in the region
in order to operate its European networks for satellite radio (S-DAB). These
satellites are ideally located in orbital position, and form a part of the
longer term market strategy focused on handheld and aftermarket applications.
It also adds yet another key operating agreement to the ONDAS Media
portfolio.
"The European market is clearly segmented into two components. To work
and be acceptable in the car industry the radios should receive the signals
from directly above, and operate in the higher frequency that car companies
have already deployed in the US. However, for some key applications, such as
handheld receivers, and aftermarket radios, those devices receive better when
supplemented from lower elevations, and in some cases already operate at
lower frequencies," states Dave Krueger COO of ONDAS Media. "With this key
agreement with Holland, we have provided a roadmap for both applications.
"The agreement with the Radio Communications Agency in the Netherlands
will allow ONDAS Media to place up to two geostationary satellites in premium
orbital positions claimed by the Netherlands," continues Krueger. "The
agreement provides a clear path towards obtaining rights for both the
satellite and terrestrial transmissions for Holland and their neighbours
necessary to provide unique services to handheld receivers, mobile phones,
portable navigation devices, and aftermarket radios as a natural evolution of
interruption-free coverage for all listeners.
"The Radio Communications Agency will now file a request for coordination
with the ITU with respect to the geostationary orbital locations 10.2 degrees
West and 29.6 degrees East and the use of frequencies
(earth-to-space/space-to-earth), for ONDAS Media," he continues. "This
component complements our automotive strategy, and is a major achievement for
the company. Hybrid networks are already a dominant architecture and ONDAS
Media is taking full advantage of their strength. In the US, the combined
network of Sirius and XM will have 11 satellites in both HEO and GEO orbits,
and 25MHZ of frequency plus additional terrestrial frequencies. This
agreement adds to our ability to operate a similar although smaller scale
network across Europe."
Following the success of Satellite Radio in the US, ONDAS Media plans to
bring an even wider variety of programming content, continuous coverage and
superior sound quality to Europe through its fully integrated, digital
satellite transmission network. ONDAS Media will broadcast its multi-lingual
radio, music, video and data services directly to European consumers in their
automobiles, trucks, homes, offices and to their mobile and portable devices.
It will provide digital entertainment to 240 million vehicles and up to 600
million European inhabitants on the move 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
through more than 150 channels of proprietary and re-distributed music,
sports, news, weather, traffic and special interest programming in all the
key European languages.
Earlier this year ONDAS Media announced a commercial volume
agreement to install Satellite Radio Receivers in Nissan and Infiniti
vehicles across Europe. That definitive agreement brings ONDAS Media's total
number of pre-sold, factory-installed satellite radios beyond the 1 million
mark.
"The agreement with Nissan and the Radio Communications Agency
in the Netherlands represent further major milestones in our plan to bring
our unique satellite radio offering to Europe," concludes Krueger.
About ONDAS Media
ONDAS MEDIA S.A. (ONDAS), Europe's premier satellite media
company is a pan-European organisation that provides comprehensive digital
services for consumers on the move, headquartered in Madrid. ONDAS Media
focuses on delivering unparalleled breadth and depth of media content in
superior digital quality to European consumers. With its fully integrated,
state-of-the-art digital satellite transmission network, ONDAS Media intends
to broadcast its multi-lingual radio, music, video and data services directly
to European consumers in their automobiles, trucks, homes, offices and to
their mobile and portable devices.
ONDAS Media is scheduled to launch its pan-European subscription-based
services in 2011. In addition to securing further investment and supporting
the necessary regulatory process throughout Europe, ONDAS Media is
establishing strategic partnerships with European OEMs. For further
information visit http://www.ondasmedia.com
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