The Argentine Nahuelsat consortium said last week that Princeton, N.J.- based GE American Communications Inc. [GE] agreed to buy a stake in the Latin American satellite venture.

GE Americom, a leading player in the U.S. domestic satellite market, now owns 17.25 percent of Nahuelsat, which plans to offer satellite services across much of South America and the United States. The move expands the company’s reach as a satellite operator, providing it with a foothold in a market expected to enjoy solid growth during the coming years

Nahuelsat was founded in 1993 with an initial $20 million investment by Aerospatiale of France, Germany’s Daimler-Benz and Alenia Spazio of Italy. Later, other partners pumped in an additional $80 million, boosting the venture’s total funding to $100 million.

The addition of GE Americom should bolster Nahuelsat, which faces other satellite operators, including giant PanAmSat Corp. [SPOT] and News Corp. [NWS], which also wants to enter the Latin American satellite market.

Nahuelsat holds a 24-year license from the Argentine government allowing it to provide multipurpose telecom services onboard the Nahuelsat 1 spacecraft.

The Ku-band bird is set for liftoff Jan. 28 from Kourou, French Guiana. It will enter service March 1.

The company expects revenues on the satellite to total at least $60 million, officials said. But while Argentina provides some level of protection to Nahuelsat as part of the licensing agreement, the government also has placed some encumbrances on the company that could affect its competitive position.

For example, our sister publication SPACE BUSINESS NEWS reported last year that Nahuelsat is required to meet social and government-mandated communications needs, such as serving thinly populated areas which offer little profit potential. But satellites belonging to U.S. operators are able to optimize profits.

Another potential roadblock for Nahuelsat may arise when the concern tries to compete in places where a competitive environment is well-established, such as the United States. GE Americom’s investment in the company could help the Nehuelsat compete, observers said, because GE has so much experience operating in the highly competitive U.S. satellite market.