Boeing-Built Anik F2 Satellite Ready for Launch<br /><br /><br /> ST. LOUIS, July 8, 2004 - All preparations have been completed for the July<br />12 launch of Anik F2, a high-power satellite built by Boeing [NYSE:BA] that<br />will deliver North America's first commercial satellite-based broadband<br />communications service.<br /><br />The launch from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, is<br />scheduled to take place at approximately 8:43 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time<br />(9:43 p.m. Kourou Time).<br /><br />Telesat, the world's longest-standing commercial satellite operator, will<br />use Anik F2 to enable cost-effective, two-way, high-speed Internet access to<br />businesses and consumers from the southern continental United States to the<br />northern reaches of Alaska and Canada. Anik F2 will also open the door to<br />new government broadband services for such applications as tele-learning,<br />tele-health, and e-services. Anik F2 will operate from geostationary orbit<br />at 111.1 degrees West longitude.<br /><br />"With its Ka-band, C-band, and Ku-band transponders, plus a xenon ion<br />propulsion system for on-orbit maneuvering, Anik F2 incorporates some of<br />Boeing's most sophisticated flight-proven technology," said David Ryan,<br />president of Boeing Satellite Systems International. "Anik F2 is also the<br />third generation of satellite designs we have built for Telesat, continuing<br />a relationship that has entered its fourth decade."<br /><br />Anik F2, built by Boeing Satellite Systems in El Segundo, Calif., will be<br />the 10th Boeing-built spacecraft Telesat has deployed since Anik A1 was<br />launched in 1972, and the 9th Boeing 702 satellite delivered since 1999.<br /><br />With 35 years of engineering and technical experience, Telesat is among the<br />world's longest-standing commercial satellite operators. The company made<br />history in 1972 when Anik A1, built by Boeing, became Canada's first<br />domestic commercial communications satellite in geostationary orbit. Telesat<br />provides telecommunications and broadcast distribution services in the<br />Americas and is a leading consultant, operator, and partner in satellite<br />ventures around the globe. Telesat is a wholly owned subsidiary of BCE Inc.,<br />a leading telecommunications company with shares listed in the United<br />States, Canada and Europe.<br /><br />A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of<br />the world's largest space and defense businesses. Headquartered in St.<br />Louis, Boeing Integrated Systems is a $27 billion business that provides<br />systems solutions to its global military, government, and commercial<br />customers. It is a leading provider of intelligence, surveillance and<br />reconnaissance systems; the world's largest military aircraft manufacturer;<br />the world's largest satellite manufacturer and a leading provider of<br />space-based communications; the primary systems integrator for U.S. missile<br />defense; NASA's largest contractor; and a global leader in launch services.<br /><br />###<br /><br />Contacts:<br />Joseph Tedino<br />The Boeing Company<br />(202) 285-9559<br />joseph.j.tedino@boeing.com<br /><br />Marta Newhart<br />The Boeing Company<br />(562) 797-2718<br />marta.e.newhart@boeing.com