Latest developments at ESA in the area of telecommunications and navigation

The spectacular growth of the satellite telecommunications market is today generated mostly by private investments, which are already larger than the governmental ones. Up to now, almost 70 telecommunications satellites have been produced by European satellite manufacturers, who hold almost 30% of the telecommunication satellite market and represent today the only alternative to USA industry. Telecommunications satellites represent more than 90% of the customer base for Arianespace, Europe's world leader in space transportation that has captured half of the international commercial market. The proliferation of television would have been impossible without the fleet of over 150 satellites on the geostationary orbit. The average European spends a tenth of his life in front of a TV set watching ten, twenty, fifty or more programmes for entertainment, training and information. Together, these European TV channels have combined advertisement revenues exceeding 15 billion ECU per year.