[Satellite News 12-08-08] Astrium Services CEO Eric Béranger believes the company’s focus on the institutional market means it is less likely to be impacted by the credit crunch due to the services the company provides.
    “We are addressing government and institutional customers, whose budgets have been set at least for 2009,” he told Satellite News. “Depending on the depth of the crisis and how long it will last and how deep it goes, there could be some impact at some point in time, but at the moment, I am not seeing that right away. The impact of the crisis is starting in the commercial world and less in the institutional world. … If I look at the various finance budgets for customers, so far, we have not seen budgets decrease. The services we provide are essential parts of national infrastructure. They are core to what is done by governments. This is not the first area where they will decrease budgets.”
    Paradigm, an Astrium Services company, provide secure telecom services to the British armed forces, NATO and other countries via the Skynet satellites. While Astrium Services may be more insulated than other companies, it will look at new opportunities to boost revenues such as its work with the French defense market and the Syracuse 3 next-generation military space-based telecoms system.
    “There have been discussions around what could happen to the Syracuse 3 constellation,” said Béranger. “France is using its Syracuse 3 constellation in a very similar way to the United Kingdom. It would be legitimate for France to at least consider whether it makes sense to stay on a patrimonial model or not. Here, we are looking at these types of opportunities. Since we are dealing with services, which are absolutely core to the operations of our customers, the needs are still there. The budgets and opportunities are still there.”
    Béranger believes it is just a matter of time before France changes its business model in terms of owning satellite capacity for military purposes. “I think France has exactly the same constraints as all other countries including budget constraints. In the long run, the service solution, such as the one adopted by the United Kingdom, is the most economic,” he said. “In the long run, I am sure that France will not stay with a model where they fully own their assets.”

French Navy
    Astrium Services already has won a four-year contract with the French Navy. Under the agreement, valued at 25 million euros ($31.8 million), Astrium Services and DCNS (formerly the French Naval Construction Agency) have been selected by the French armament procurement agency (DGA) to supply the Telcomarsat system. Fifty-four ships in the French navy will be equipped with this military telecommunications system provided by commercial satellites, with equipment based on off-the-shelf products. “The partnership ensures the management of the global system for the ground and naval segments,” Christian Foissey, senior vice president for services at DCNS said.
    “The significance is that it is really giving the sailors a real 24-hour link to the French national territory from anywhere in the world.” said Béranger. “Using any type of commercial capacity, we are working together with DCNS to fit ships with the terminals and equipment in order to provide ship-borne communication capabilities through just any type of commercial satellite. What we are bringing is the possibility for the ships to be connected on a 24-hour basis to the French territory from anywhere in the world.”
    The deal with the French Navy could be a springboard for other similar type deals in 2009. “It is a matter of opportunities, but we are able to fit some ships with some naval stations,” Béranger said. “We are already doing this in the United Kingdom and 11 other navies with Scoy terminals Now, we are doing it with the French Navy with commercial terminals. We are demonstrating our ability to engineer solutions for various types of environments and configurations.”