GeoEye Signs Contract With Telespazio as New Commercial Regional Affiliate for GeoEye-1 Satellite
New Europe-based Affiliate Will Have Access to World’s Highest Resolution, Commercial Earth-Imaging Satellite Imagery
DULLES, Va., Oct. 29 /PGeoEye, Inc. (Nasdaq: GEOY), a premier provider of satellite and aerial imagery and geospatial information, announced today that on October 15, it signed a multi-year agreement with Rome-based Telespazio S.p.A. appointing Telespazio as GeoEye’s new Commercial Regional Affiliate for the region of Europe and North Africa. Telespazio, a Finmeccanica/Thales company, will produce, market and sell Earth imagery and related products and services from GeoEye’s newest high-resolution satellite, GeoEye-1, to customers in Europe and North Africa. GeoEye-1 was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California on September 6 and is expected to be fully operational this fall. Telespazio’s GeoEye-1 exclusive imagery sales rights begin as soon as GeoEye-1 becomes operational.
Beginning in 2009, Telespazio will also have access to the IKONOS satellite and collect, produce, market and sell Earth imagery and related products to customers in Europe and North Africa. Telespazio’s IKONOS rights will include the exclusive right to sell IKONOS imagery collected after December 31, 2008. The GeoEye-1 and IKONOS satellite imagery collection, processing and sales rights granted to Telespazio are subject to prior U.S. Government approval of the multi-year agreement.
The multi-year agreement with Telespazio marks the first of its kind under GeoEye’s Commercial Regional Affiliate business model, which was developed as a new service offering to augment the global commercialization of GeoEye-1 imagery.
“Telespazio has long been a leader in the Earth observation sector in Europe, and we are delighted to have them as our newest Commercial Regional Affiliate,” said Matthew O’Connell, GeoEye’s chief executive officer and president. “Their recent acquisition of several large companies has assured us of Telespazio’s strong commitment to developing GeoEye-1’s presence in the European commercial and government geospatial markets.”
Paolo Colombi, GeoEye’s vice president of international sales, added, “The European market is thriving. We expect our association with Telespazio to optimize our market penetration in this important part of the world,” he said.
“We plan to integrate imagery from the IKONOS and GeoEye-1 satellites with geospatial information software technology for customers within government and business markets throughout Europe and North Africa,” said Giuseppe Veredice, Telespazio’s chief executive officer. “We believe that the fast collection of fresh optical images from IKONOS and Geo-Eye-1 satellites combined with the high revisit — up to every 6 hours — of radar images from COSMO-SkyMed’s four satellite constellation, will represent a unique capability for providing timely information for natural resource management and for response to emergency and security requirements.”
GeoEye-1 Satellite
GeoEye-1 collects imagery that can distinguish objects on the Earth’s surface as small as 0.41-meter or about 16 inches in size in its black and white mode and 1.65-meter resolution color (or multispectral) imagery. Through a proprietary production capability, commercial customers will have access to color imagery at the .5 meter resolution, which no other commercial imaging company will be able to match.
About GeoEye
GeoEye is the premier provider of geospatial information for the national security community, strategic partners, resellers and commercial customers to help them better map, measure and monitor the world. The Company is recognized as the industry’s trusted imagery expert for delivering reliable service and the exceptional quality of its imagery products and solutions. It operates a constellation of Earth imaging satellites, mapping aircraft and has an international network of ground stations, a robust imagery archive, and advanced imagery processing capabilities for developing innovative geospatial products and solutions. On September 6, GeoEye launched its GeoEye-1 satellite, which is the world’s highest resolution and most accurate commercial imaging satellite. The Company also provides support to academic institutions and non-governmental organizations through the GeoEye Foundation. Headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, GeoEye is a public company listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the symbol GEOY. It maintains a comprehensive Quality Management System (QMS) and has achieved company-wide ISO accreditation. For more information, visit http://www.geoeye.com.
About Telespazio
Telespazio, a joint venture between Finmeccanica (67%) and Thales (33%), is a world leader in satellite services: from management of satellites to Earth observation services, from satellite navigation to broadband multimedia telecommunications. Telespazio plays a leading role in the reference markets harnessing technological experience acquired over the years and through its participation in major European space programs such as: GALILEO, EGNOS, GMES and COSMO-SkyMed. In the field of geospatial information Telespazio is covering the whole range of activities from satellite data reception at ground stations to application solutions for final users and is leading innovative emergency and security projects at European level integrating satellite, aerial and in-situ data within the decision making process of the customer. The company in 2007 generated sales of EUR 395 million, and employed around 1,700 staff. For more information, visit http://www.telespazio.com.
Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. GeoEye’s actual financial and operational results could differ materially from those anticipated. Additional information regarding these risk factors and uncertainties is described more fully in the Company’s SEC filings. A copy of all SEC filings may be obtained from the SEC’s EDGAR web site, http://www.sec.gov, or by contacting: William L. Warren, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, at 703-480-5672.
