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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASECONTACT: PanAmSat's HD Neighborhood Comes Alive As Galaxy 13/Horizons-1 Goes Into Service; Cinemax HD, TBS, HBO, Starz! HD and HDNet Are Anchor Tenants on One of Industry's Most Advanced SatellitesWILTON, Conn., Jan. 21, 2004 -- PanAmSat Corporation today announced that Galaxy 13/Horizons-1, the company's recently launched 24th satellite, has successfully completed all in-orbit testing and is operational, delivering high-powered cable, video and VSAT services throughout the continental U.S., Alaska and Hawaii. Located at 127 degrees west longitude in the U.S. cable arc, Galaxy 13/Horizons-1 is home to the industry's first high-definition television (HD) neighborhood. "Expected to be in service for over 15 years, Galaxy 13/Horizons-1 is a vital addition to our fleet. It provides double-the-power per transponder to support video and data content, new Ku-band capacity and the first and best HD neighborhood in the U.S.," said Joe Wright, president and CEO, PanAmSat. Galaxy 13/Horizons-1's C-band platform will be part of the "Power of Five" antenna program, which provides qualified cable operators with simultaneous access to five Galaxy neighborhood satellites. Together, these satellites deliver television programming to over 11, 000 cable headends in the U.S. In addition to its roster of HD programmers, Galaxy 13 also includes some of the industry's premier video broadcasters including Charter Communications, E!, and the Starz Encore thematic channels. Wright continued, "High-definition is the future of television which is why we have specifically developed a family of satellites capable of supporting this rapidly emerging technology. With six of the industry's premier broadcasters choosing the PanAmSat Galaxy fleet as the platform to launch their HD services, PanAmSat offers even more value to cable operators. By turning their head-ends to Galaxy 13/Horizons-1 C-band payload, cable operators not only receive our HD neighborhood, but can access programming from other satellites that offer leading cable services as well as digital HD channels. By facilitating the delivery of HD programming, PanAmSat is going to be part of the growth of this industry as we plan to launch two more "HD-ready" satellites by the end of 2005." The 4090-kilogram Galaxy 13/Horizons-1 satellite is a partnership between PanAmSat and Japan's JSAT. The C-band payload is owned by PanAmSat and the Ku-band is jointly owned by PanAmSat and JSAT. Named Horizons-1, the Ku-band payload of the satellite can support a variety of digital video, Internet and data services as well as new IP-based content distribution networks. Both the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Japan's Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts & Telecom have given final radio authorization for the Ku-band capacity. Galaxy 13/Horizons-1 will operate under dual licenses, with the C-band payload licensed through the FCC in the U.S., and the Ku-band licensed through Japan's Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications. The satellite will be linked to the Asia-Pacific region through the PanAmSat teleport in Napa, California to PanAmSat's Pacific Ocean Region satellites and through JSAT's Hawaii teleport to JSAT's fleet of satellites. Galaxy 13/Horizons-1 is the final satellite in a multi-satellite procurement contract between PanAmSat and Boeing Satellite Systems that began in 1998. The spacecraft takes over for Galaxy IX, which is moving to 74 degrees west longitude where it will operate as an in-orbit spare for PanAmSat's Galaxy fleet. In addition to Galaxy 13/Horizons-1, PanAmSat will deploy its two other HD-ready satellites--Galaxy 14 and Galaxy 15-within the next two years. Galaxy 5, Galaxy 10R and Galaxy 4R are the other satellites in PanAmSat's fleet that currently offer high-definition programming. About PanAmSat PanAmSat Corporation is one of the world's top three satellite operators managing a global fleet of 30 satellites, 24 of which are wholly-owned by the Company, for the delivery of news, sports and other television programming. In total, this fleet is capable of reaching more than 98 percent of the world's population through cable television systems, broadcast affiliates, direct-to-home operators, Internet service providers and telecommunications companies. In addition, PanAmSat supports the largest concentration of satellite-based business networks in the U.S., as well as specialized communications services in remote areas throughout the world. PanAmSat is 81 percent owned by HUGHES Electronics Corporation. For more information, visit the company's web site at http://www.panamsat.com/. About Hughes Hughes Electronics Corporation is a world-leading provider of digital multi-channel television entertainment, broadband satellite networks and services, and global video and data broadcasting. Hughes is 34 percent owned by Fox Entertainment Group, which is approximately 82 percent owned by News Corporation Ltd.
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