Eurely and iNavSat consortia deliver a joint proposal for the Galileo Concession

Eurely and iNavSat consortia deliver a joint proposal for the Galileo
Concession
June 20th, 2005


GALILEO
credits : EADS ASTRIUM


Brussels, June 20th, 2005 - The founding members of the Eurely and iNavSat
consortia have today delivered their joint proposal for the Galileo
Concession to the Galileo Joint Undertaking (GJU).

The submission of this joint proposal follows the decision "that the GJU
could not select a preferred bidder as the two bids were too close to
separate, considering their quality and complementary options".

Both consortia believe that the sole way to ensure a "best value for money"
approach for the public sector is to merge their respective resources and
experience and to combine their complementary commercial approaches to the
Galileo implementation. This joint proposal enables significant improvement
in the benefits for the public sector and will mean that the momentum for an
overall on-time delivery of the project will be maintained.

The merger of the two consortia will significantly reduce the contributions
of European taxpayers. Moreover, the market perspective for the European
downstream industries is excellent with the potential creation of thousands
of jobs throughout Europe.

Today's joint proposal of the two European consortia marks a milestone in
the development of one of Europe's biggest common projects. Both consortia
are expecting that this joint proposal will allow the GJU to effectively
approve their merger, with a view towards entering into the next phase. It
is based on the successful competitive process carried out by the Galileo
Joint Undertaking, started in 2003. Therefore, Eurely and iNavSat are
confident that the synergies resulting from the common offer will be
recognised as the best solution for Europe and its citizens.

Both Eurely and iNavSat are jointly ready to proceed with the final
Concession Contract negotiations, which will formalise the Galileo Public
Private Partnership by the end of this year.

The founding members of Eurely and iNavsat a AENA, Alcatel, EADS,
Finmeccanica, Hispasat, Inmarsat, and Thales.

About AENA
Aena is a Public Business Entity entrusted with the planning, development,
building, installation, operation and managing of the 44(+3) Spanish civil
airports and the air navigation system for all airspace under Spanish
responsibility, with 5 Area Control Centres covering 4 Flight Information
Regions (FIR/UIR). Aena also manages 15 airports in Central and South
America. Aena integrates all Spanish civil aeronautical infrastructure
activities in one single organisation staffed by qualified professionals,
with a business philosophy whilst keeping the best of public service spirit,
technological innovation and safety management. Aena's strategy is to
operate as a service company offering its customers (airline companies and
air transport users in general) a safe, efficient and high quality of
service, fostering economic progress.

About ALCATEL
Alcatel provides communications solutions to telecommunication carriers,
Internet service providers and enterprises for delivery of voice, data and
video applications to their customers or employees. Alcatel brings its
leading position in fixed and mobile broadband networks, applications and
services, to help its partners and customers build a user-centric broadband
world. With sales of EURO 12.3 billion in 2004, Alcatel operates in more
than 130 countries. For more information, visit Alcatel on the Internet:
http://www.alcatel.com

About EADS SPACE Services:
EADS SPACE Services is committed to providing and developing satellite
services in the areas of telecommunications and navigation. EADS SPACE
Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS SPACE, which is dedicated to
providing civil and defence space systems. In 2004, EADS SPACE had a
turnover of ?2.6 billion and 11,000 employees in France, Germany, the United
Kingdom and Spain. EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related
services. In 2004, EADS generated revenues of ?31.8 billion and employed a
workforce of more than 110,000. http://www.space.eads.net
About Finmeccanica
Finmeccanica is Italy's leading high-tech company, operating in the design
and manufacture of helicopters, civil and military aircraft, aerostructures,
space satellites and infrastructure, satellite services, command and control
systems, defence electronics and systems, communications, security and IT.
Finmeccanica participates in some of the largest international programmes in
the sector through well-established alliances with European and American
partners. Finmeccanica also boasts significant manufacturing assets and
skills in the transport and energy sectors. With operations in Italy and
abroad, it employs around 51,000 staff in total. Finmeccanica spends 16 % of
its revenues on research and development. For more information, please visit
http://www.finmeccanica.it

About Hispasat
Hispasat is a Spanish group of companies that started in 1989 as satellite
system operator for commercial and governmental/military communication
services, provision of engineering solutions and new advanced projects. Its
satellite fleet is located at 30 W and 61 W orbital positions to provide all
types of communication services at both sides of the Atlantic. Hispasat has
proven experience in satellite engineering, procurement, launch, testing and
operations, with satellite ground control and monitoring premises in Spain,
Brazil, Argentina and Mexico as well as appropriate knowledge in Security.
HISPASAT has been cleared by the Spanish Ministry of Defence (SMOD) since
1990.

About Inmarsat Ventures Ltd
Inmarsat plc (LSE: ISAT) is the leading provider of global mobile satellite
communications. Since 1979, Inmarsat has been providing reliable voice and
high-speed data communications to governments, enterprises and other
organisations, with a range of services that can be used on land, at sea or
in the air. The company's services are delivered through a world-class
network of leading telecoms groups. For the year ended 31 December 2004,
group revenue was $480.7 million, with operating profit of $159.1 million.
More information can be found at www.inmarsat.com.

About Thales
Thales is an international electronics and systems group, serving defence,
aerospace, services and security markets. The group employs 60,000 people
worldwide and generated revenues of 10.3 billion in 2004. Thales is a
pioneer in satellite navigation technology and is the only European company
with end-to-end satellite navigation capability, from signals to products,
to systems and services delivery. www.thalesgroup.com

AENA Press Contacts
Alfredo Aza Tel: + 34 9 13 21 61 69

Alcatel Press Contacts
Florence Pontieux / HQ Tel :+ 33 (0)1 40 76 12 02



EADS Press Contacts
Remi Roland Tel : + 33 1 42 24 27 34


Finmeccanica press contacts
Marco Valerio Bonelli Tel: +39 06 32473577

Hispasat press contacts
Marta Navarro Tel: + 34 917 08 08 53

Inmarsat Press Contacts
Chris McLaughlin Tel: +44 (0)20 7728 10 15



Thales Press Contacts
Natasha Harvey
Tel :+ 33 (0)1 57 77 87 27






Contacts:
Rémi ROLAND
EADS SPACE (FR)Tel: +33 (0) 1 42 24 27 34

Francisco LECHÓN
EADS SPACE (E)Tel: +34 (0) 91 586 37 41

Dr. Christian W Erles
EADS SPACE (FR)Tel: +33 (0) 1 39 06 32 53



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Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info