Watch out Optus! satellite competition looms

Stuart Corner
Monday, 19 November 2007 07:59

Business IT - Networking

There is no shortage of satellites providing coverage of Australia, but satellite service provider NewSat (ASX: NWT) believes there is room for one more, and plans to launch is own in late 2009. At present Optus is the only owner of satellites specifically built to serve Australia and New Zealand, but the iPstar broadband satellite   (the world's largest and most powerful commercial satellite) has beams dedicated to covering Australia and New Zealand.

It plans to raise the estimated $400 million cost of the project by tipping in $100m itself, teaming up with an as yet un-identified multinational  for another $100m - it claims that several potential partners have already been identified and have expressed significant interest in joining the project - and getting the rest from Federal Government funds earmarked for telecommunications.

NewSat would fund its share with the help of either its existing financial partner, Cornell Capital, or a multinational investment bank. The proposed Ka band satellite would be build by Space Systems Loral , launched by Arianespace and would provide coverage of Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Timor.

NewSat is an experienced satellite service provider operating its own teleports and carrying services on numerous existing satellites. It also provides telemetry and tracking services to satellite owners so says it would be able to managed its own satellite.

NewSat points out that the Commonwealth Government has currently pledged nearly $1 billion to Opel, the reach of whose proposed networks will extend to only 8.3 percent of Australia's land mass.  NewSat claims that "Delivery of affordable services to 100 percent of Australia's land mass will be achieved by using the inexpensive all-purpose Ka frequency."

NewSat aims to pre-sell most of the space segment before the satellite is launched and says that likely customers will include the military, education, and oil, gas and mining sectors. It claims that that revenues "will meet all investment hurdles".

A key prerequisite is for NewSat to secure a geostationary orbit location that will provide coverage of Australia. It says it could negotiate use of a slot form an existing holder, or share a slot with an existing satellite, and "many options are available."