Artist’s rendition of a Boeing 702MP satellite. Photo: Boeing

[Via Satellite 01-20-2015] New York Broadband (NYBB), operator of 12 Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) television channels in the United States, has ordered a high-powered L-band satellite from Boeing. Hong Kong-based CMMB Vision has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with NYBB to lease all the capacity on the new satellite, dubbed NYBBSat 1, for a mobile multimedia service in China and Asia. NYBBSat 1 is a replacement satellite for AsiaStar at 105 degrees east, which NYBB recently acquired along with its associated L-band spectrum rights. The company expects to orbit the satellite in mid-2017, and is separately procuring a launch vehicle.

Boeing will build the satellite on its 702 Medium Power (MP) platform. NYBB is being designed with a high-powered L-band payload for broadcast and communications services to China and the surrounding oceans, along with steerable beams for services to select Asian markets. Space Partnership International (SPI) assisted in the procurement process, and is actively working with NYBB on securing NYBBSat 1’s launch and a second satellite, NYBBSat 2, from which CMMB Vision also plans to lease capacity.