Intel Corp is teaming up with Societe Europeenne des Satellites SA of Luxembourg to to offer multimedia data transmission services in Europe. The two are forming European Satellite Multimedia Services SA, capitalized at $15m and majority-owned by the Luxemborg company; the service will use spare capacity on Luxembourger’s six satellites, using gaps in the broadcast schedules of its television broadcasting customers. Four more satellites are due for launch this year and next; Astra-Net reception throughout Europe will require a 20 to 24 satellite dish, connected to a personal computer with a board compatible with the Digital Video Broadcasting standard. Business data will be able to be sent to servers at speeds up to 38Mbps, Intel reports.
