Chief Executive Officers of Europe's satellite operators met last week in Brussels for the Annual General Meeting of the European Satellite Operators Association (ESOA). The Board elected Giuliano Berretta, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Eutelsat Communications, as Chairman of the Board and Romain Bausch, CEO of SES, was elected Vice Chairman of the Board.
Berretta succeeds Christodoulos Protopapas, CEO of Hellas Sat and will lead ESOA through the next year in its work; this includes conducting a review of the EU Regulatory Framework and opening global markets to satellite services, promoting broadband connectivity via satellite especially for developing regions such as Africa, and advocating the role satellites play in energy efficiency.
Berretta said: "Satellites face tough issues in the world today. Besides pushing the benefits they provide of enabling communication between people anywhere, anytime, we find ourselves having to fight hard to protect even the basic framework in which satellites operate! By this, I mean obtaining and preserving ongoing and unfettered access to spectrum; respecting the international (ITU) framework on which satellite operators depend, and maintaining long-term license procedures that enable operators to provide services over 15-20 years. These are all issues that are being called into question by the present review of the EU Telecoms Package and on which satellite operators through ESOA, will continue to take an aggressive stance to defend their interests."
