Eutelsat, the satellite organisation controlled by European governments, is about to undergo its biggest change since it was founded in 1977. According to official sources, a five-year, three-stage transformation process could see it becoming a public limited company. Historically, each European government involved in Eutelsat selected one investor, its (then) state-controlled national telecommunications body, to participate. Broadcasters then had to buy air-time from these. But to enable Eutelsat to compete with rivals such as the Astra satellites of the Societe Europeene des Satellites of Luxembourg, the organisation wants more investors from individual countries. Also planned is increased devolvement of responsibility to the managing director in such areas as price policy. Eutelsat managing director Jean Grenier and his team are currently controlled by a board of government representatives as well as by the shareholding national investors, and cannot decide themselves on prices or access control. Moreover, the organisation has a centrally enforced profit target of 12% on capital employed. Recent talks with the telecommunications investors and governments concerned have led to a study into reorganising Eutelsat. Provisionally, a three-stage approach to change has been adopted. Firstly, ways will be found to enable new investors to enter and open access to the satellites, although implementation details have not been finalised. Phase two would see the organisation’s accords being changed, leading finally to phase three in which they will be transferred to a public limited company. But the deliberation process is a complicated one. First the governments and investor companies involved have to agree the changes by a two-thirds majority and then the countries’ parliaments have to ratify the change by a two-thirds majority. I think the three stages will take five years, Grenier suggested.
