SPOT Spotify Technology SA

PanAmSat Celebrates Customers With Presentation of Operational Excellence Awards Walgreens, Q-KON, Centrex and News 8 WMTW Recognized for Exceptional Technical Operations ATLANTA, March 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PanAmSat Corporation today announced that Walgreens, Q-KON, Centrex and News 8 WMTW have been selected to receive PanAmSat's Operational Excellence award for 2003. First presented in 2002 to Brazil's EMBRATEL, the awards recognize technical leadership amid PanAmSat's customer portfolio. "All of our customers work hard at running their businesses and some go that extra mile to meet or surpass the definition of operational excellence in their working relationships with PanAmSat," said Bridget Neville, senior vice president engineeringand operations for PanAmSat. "Walgreens, Q-KON, Centrex and News 8 WMTW have all demonstrated the spirit of co-operation, error-free operation and commitment to excellence that makes them model customers." The award recipients will be flown to an awards ceremony at PanAmSat's Anselmo Customer Service Center in Atlanta, Georgia on Wednesday, March 31st. Pat Maloy, president of Centrex; Dawie De Wet, chief executive officer of Q- KON and Keith Kettelhut, SNG manager of News 8 WMTW will attend the ceremony and accept the awards in person. The honorees were individually reviewed and nominated by four different PanAmSat technical operations facilities according to the following criteria: * Partnership: Being helpful, friendly and cooperative * Error-free operations: As measured by PanAmSat's Network Operations Center * Model customer: A consistent record of following PanAmSat procedures * Assistance: Going above and beyond expectations to assist PanAmSat Walgreens, nominatedby the network operations center, links more than 4,000 store locations throughout the United States using very small aperture terminal (VSAT) networks via PanAmSat's Galaxy 11 satellite. Walgreens' retail stores relay communications via dedicated transmission links, enabling inventory tracking, interoffice e-mail, point-of-purchase transactions and other functions. Q-KON, nominated by the digital operations group, is an approved backbone provider for the PanAmSat SPOTbytes Internet access solutionand acts as a distributor for this service. With more than 10 years of experience in telecommunication projects in Africa and with completed projects in 17 of the Sub-Sahara countries, Q-KON is well-equipped and skilled to offer Africa world-class services and support. Centrex, nominated by the global scheduling center, has been providing U.S. domestic and international satellite services since 1988 for occasional use, full-time services and special events. Founded in 1985, the company provides broadcast services for rally car racing and cricket events from around the world. News 8 WMTW, nominated by the satellite newsgathering group (SNG), is a local affiliate news station of ABC based in Portland, Maine. During the infancy of PanAmSat's satellite newsgathering operations, Keith Kettelhut, WMTW's satellite uplink technician, was one of the first engineers to offer assistance, positive feedback and a willingness to share his experience with other uplink operators. During 2003, he successfullycompleted 177 errorless uplink broadcasts for the News 8 WMTW mobile satellite newsroom. About PanAmSat PanAmSat Corporation (NASDAQ:SPOT) is one of the world's top three satellite operators managing a global fleet of 30 satellites, 24 of which are wholly-owned by the Company, for the delivery of news, sports and other television programming. In total, this fleet is capable of reaching more than 98 percent of the world's population through cable television systems, broadcast affiliates, direct-to-home operators, Internet service providers and telecommunications companies. In addition, PanAmSat supports the largest concentration of satellite-based business networks in the U.S., as well as specialized communications services in remote areas throughout the world. PanAmSat is 81 percent owned by The DIRECTV Group, formerly HUGHES Electronics Corporation. For more information, visit the company's web site at http://www.panamsat.com/. The DIRECTV Group, Inc. The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (NYSE:DTV) formerly Hughes Electronics Corp. (NYSE:HS), is a world-leading provider of digital multichannel television entertainment, broadband satellite networks and services, and global video and data broadcasting. The DIRECTV Group is 34 percent owned by Fox Entertainment Group, which is approximately 82 percent owned by News Corporation Ltd. DATASOURCE: PanAmSat Corporation CONTACT: Kathryn Lancioni (media/investors), +1-203-210-8000, for PanAmSat Corporation Web site: http://www.panamsat.com/

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