Roughly a year after launching its satellite broadband service in Southeast Asia, Shin Satellite plc expects its new Thaicom 5 satellite to be 60 percent used as it begins commercial operations this month, said Dumrong Kasemset, the company’s CEO.

The $101 million Thaicom 5 satellite, placed into orbit in May by an Ariane 5 rocket, is fitted with 25 C-band transponders and 14 Ku-band transponders. From its orbital position at 78.5 degrees East, Thaicom 5 will provide telecom and TV transmission services, including high-definition (HD) services, for the Asia-Pacific region and eventually will replace the Thaicom 3 satellite, which is due to expire in two years and has been plagued by glitches in the power supplies of certain Ku-band transponders since 2003.

According to Kasemset, only 40 percent of the transponders on Thaicom 5 are for new customers, as clients currently using Thaicom 3 would take up the remaining 60 percent. "We are targeting new customers in the region with HDTV programming," Kasemset told Satellite News during an interview at CommunicAsia in Singapore in June. "We are offering movies and specialty programming that is cashed during off-peak hours, further using our system when Internet traffic is low."

Until it is decommissioned, Shin Satellite will shift the orbit of Thaicom 3 to serve potential clients in the Middle East and Africa. Both the Thaicom 3 and Thaicom 5 satellites are the Spacebus 3000A model, manufactured by France’s Alcatel Alenia Space.

Kasemset said Thaicom 5’s platform has more advanced technology and is more reliable than Thaicom 3, so the company does not expect the same problems it experienced with the old satellite. "We expect Thaicom 5 to be in operation for at least 14 years, giving us the opportunity to offer advanced programming services to current and future customers," he added.

In addition to providing programming to the home, Shin also has expanded its offering into the mobile video market. Working with a Thailand-based Toyota manufacturer, Shin is outfitting sport utility vehicles with hardware that enables voice, video and data applications such as video conferencing and digital satellite newsgathering to organizations that require high security and reliability, such as broadcasters, telcos, the military and disaster relief organizations.

Broadband Offering Still Growing For Shin

Even though a diverse program offering is something Shin executives are cultivating aggressively for long-term business growth, its broadband activity is not slowing down. The beginning of operations with the IPStar satellite, also known as Thaicom 4, in late 2005 helped Shin Satellite sell nearly 18,000 user terminals in 2005, compared to about 5,500 in 2004. Transponder and related sales rose 52.7 percent in the first quarter of 2006, as the company sold more than 11,000 IPStar user terminals in the first quarter of this year.

The company recently reached an agreement with China Satellite Communications Corp. to cooperate in the launching of IPStar broadband services in China. "We are in the process of completing two gateways in China, one in Shanghai and the other in Guangzhou by the end of the fourth quarter," Kasemset said. The first IPStar gateway already operational in China is in Beijing. There are currently roughly 64 million broadband users in the China market and this is expected to reach 100 million. According to Kasemset, Shin Satellite expects IPStar to attract about 1 million users in the country.

Beyond its developments in China, Shin has been aggressively building out services in Australia and New Zealand. Broadband demand is growing steadily in Australia, and the new service will ensure regional and remote Australia is connected to the urban areas. IPStar will provide a boost in capability for regional communications, which represents advancements in communications not only for individual users but also for schools and medical facilities located in more remote areas, which currently cannot access true broadband capability.

Similarly, New Zealand is facing similar challenges. IPStar is offering a solid backbone connection to New Zealanders in rural areas. "It represents a significant leap in capability for the delivery of true broadband to regional and remote areas," Kasemset said.

— Nick Mitsis