Page 68 - SAMENA Trends - July-August 2023

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Thaicom and Eutelsat Announce Plans for HTS Launch

Asian satellite and space tech company
Thaicom has announced the signing of
a partnership agreement between Space
Tech Innovation Limited (STI), a subsidiary
of Thaicom, and Eutelsat Asia, a subsidiary
of satellite operator Eutelsat. This
partnership relates to a new satellite to be
launched at the orbital slot of 119.5 degrees
East. Under the agreement, Eutelsat is
committed to lease and operate the service
for 50% of the satellite capacity during its
lifetime of 16 years. Thaicom is currently
finalizing the procurement process of
the satellite. The actual launch date does
not appear to have been announced yet.
Thaicom says its satellite is part of a new
generation of broadband software-defined
high throughput satellites (HTS). This
means, the company says, that it will allow and partners throughout Asia-Pacific. not only provides a long-term and secure
flexibility and instant reconfiguration to Patompob (Nile) Suwansiri, Thaicom's Chief utilization of 50% of our new satellite, but
adapt dynamically to the service areas and Executive Officer, says: “This partnership more importantly, it will create synergies
will thus provide a significant confidence is strategic for our new satellite project at between the two organizations to capture
boost for the company’s customers the orbital slot of 119.5 degrees East as it new growth opportunities in the future.”

New Hughes Satellite Promises Connectivity Boost for Latin America

Heralding what the company calls the the Hughes JUPITER fleet with more than
start of a new era of connectivity, Hughes 500 Gbps of additional capacity. With this
Network Systems’ JUPITER 3 ultra-high- satellite, Hughes says it will enhance its
density satellite has successfully launched HughesNet satellite internet offerings for
on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from the customers in Latin America and the US
Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. Described with more broadband capacity overall and
as the largest commercial communications higher speed plans in many markets—
satellite ever built, it will more than double some with download speeds up to 100
the capacity of the Hughes JUPITER fleet Mbps. The company says it will also offer
and is engineered to deliver gigabytes of higher speed HughesNet Fusion plans, a
connectivity to customers across North reference to the low-latency home internet
and South America. Hamid Akhavan, that leverages multipath technology to
CEO of parent company EchoStar, says: blend satellite and wireless technologies
“JUPITER 3 is the highest-capacity, seamlessly into a low-latency satellite
highest-performing satellite we’ve ever internet experience. The new satellite will
launched,” adding: “This purpose-built also support applications such as in-flight
satellite is engineered uniquely to meet Wi-Fi, enterprise networking and cellular
our customers’ needs and target capacity backhaul for mobile network operators.
where it’s needed most, such as the most The Via Satellite news service points out
rural regions of the Americas.” Over the that the new satellite will give Hughes
coming weeks, JUPITER 3 will travel into much-needed capacity as the satellite
a geosynchronous orbit 35,786 kilometers operator is ‘maxed out on its current fleet’
above the Earth to its destination at the and losing subscribers amid competition
95 degrees west orbital slot. It will then from Starlink. It adds that the new satellite
undergo extensive bus and payload testing was originally supposed to launch in 2021
before entering service and augmenting but was held back by a number of delays.

68 JULY-AUGUST 2023