Bangladesh Communication Satellite Company Ltd has started functioning, taking on its role of running commercial operations of Bangabandhu Satellite-1.
The company already got registered with the Office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms last week and its board of directors held a meeting soon after.
The company's authorised capital is Tk 5,000 crore and paid-up capital Tk 500 crore. Initially, 200 shares of Tk 10 each have been provided to each director.
As per the registration, the board will consist of 11 members with the telecom secretary as the chairperson.
An official of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) said Thales Alenia Space, the French contractor for the project, has completed constructing the satellite.
Now Thales is running different tests, including a number of sensitivity tests, to ensure that the satellite works fine on being launched into the space, the official said.
On completion of all procedures, Thales will hand over the satellite to US firm Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) for launching it.
SpaceX is a private aerospace manufacturer and space transport services provider that works with Nasa and transports cargo to the International Space Station.
In 2015, BTRC signed a $248 million deal with Thales to design, build and launch the satellite.
Citing a study of the telecom watchdog, officials said, once the satellite is launched, Bangladesh will be able to save at least $14 million a year, which the local television channels pay to foreign satellite companies as transmission fees.
The satellite will also help launch DTH (direct-to-home) services and narrow the digital divide.
Along with providing services locally, the company also aims to get foreign clients. The BTRC study found that about 70 percent of the satellite's revenue will come from neighbouring countries while the rest will be earned locally.
The satellite will have the capacity to serve all the South and Southeast Asian countries, including Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/satellite-company-starts-journey-1448719