SES Signs Telikom PNG Deal; Looks to Invest in Additional Asian Satellites
By Jeffrey Hill | June 20, 2012
[Satellite TODAY Insider 06-20-12] SES has signed a new multi-year capacity deal with Papua New Guinea’s incumbent telecommunications operator Telikom PNG as part of a strategy to ramp up investment activities in Asia-Pacific and possibly invest in one or two additional satellite covering the region, the FSS operator confirmed June 19.
The Telikom PNG deal involves a renewal of satellite capacity on SES’ NSS-9 satellite located at the 183 degrees East and on NSS-6 at 95 degrees East. Telikom PNG now contracts more than 100 MHz in total capacity with SES.
Telikom PNG CEO Charles Litau said the SES capacity would allow his company to continue expanding cellular services into new regions and mountainous terrain by providing cellular backhaul between a large number of sites around the country and its capital, Port Moresby.
“The new deal will allow us to provide our customers with connectivity to the remotest locations – the highlands, mining camps and islands of Papua New Guinea,” Litau said in a statement. “We have benefited from SES’ global expertise and excellent technical and engineering support, and we look forward to further developing our strong partnership by exploring other business opportunities in Papua New Guinea.”
SES Senior Vice President of Asia-Pacific and Middle East Commercial Services Deepak Mathur explained Telikom PNG’s choice of satellite in procuring capacity to improve connectivity for enterprises, governments and consumers in Papua New Guinea.
“NSS-9 deploys state-of-the-art technology and is one of the most powerful satellites in SES’ fleet of 50 satellites, enabling customers like Telikom PNG to optimise their networks to get the maximum throughput to save costs and operate more efficiently,” Mathur said.
The number of channels offered by DTH platforms in Southeast Asia are projected to reach 1,600 by 2016. The increasing popularity of DTH satellite television and the growing demand for HD broadcast content across Asia-Pacific are driving SES to increase its investment in meeting the region’s demand for satellite capacity.
SES’ current committed investment in Asia includes SES-8, which is due to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in the first quarter of 2013. The satellite will deliver vital expansion capacity to Asian video neighborhoods in South Asia and Indochina. Mathur said SES is looking for further growth opportunities and sees the potential to invest in one to two additional satellites to deliver increased satellite capacity and coverage in Asia-Pacific beyond 2014.
“SES has experienced considerable growth in the emerging markets of Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Africa in the past year, which contributed 24 percent of total revenue in 2011,” said Mathur. “By making these substantial investments to meet demand for satellite capacity in Asia-Pacific, we hope to grow with our customers and continue to be the partner of choice for broadcasters, governments, businesses and communities here.”