[Satellite TODAY Insider 02-06-12] Asian satellite operator Measat has entered into a $180 million agreement with Australian operator Newsat to start Jabiru-1 satellite capacity covering South Asia and Southeast Asia for 15 years, the companies confirmed Feb. 3.

   Newsat said the deal would be completed during the next two weeks as the satellite’s specifications are finalized. The company added that Measat would also enter a lease agreement for capacity on Jabiru-2. Newsat’s hybrid Ku- and Ka-band Jabiru-1 satellite will launch later this year, providing coverage over Southeast Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.

   Newsat Founder and CEO Adrian Ballintine said when combined with a 10-year, $134 million contract it signed in 2011 with Pakistani telco 3A Technology, the new contract places the company in a good position to support future projects.

   “Clearly, this deal now takes us well above the amount that we need to have to satisfy even the most stringent requirements for financing,” Ballintine said in a statement. “We are looking to secure low-interest Export-Import funding from France and the United States. The banks will invest because Jabiru’s construction [by Lockheed Martin] will create about 750 jobs in the United States and the same amount of jobs at Arianespace.”

    Arianespace has already signed a contract to launch the Jabiru-1 satellite, which will be the only Australian-owned commercial satellite in orbit after it is launched. NewSat said it has sold about one-third of the capacity for Jabiru-1 and Jabiru-2 satellites.

    In a research note, E.L & C Baillieu Director of Institutional Equities Ben Grodski said Newsat’s development provided an exciting story for the region.

“NewSat is going through a transformation period — from a satellite reseller to an owner-operator model. Historically they have resold capacity on other satellites, now they are progressing towards launching their own fleet,” Grodski said. “While Newsat has most of the work it needs to get a commercial satellite up and running, the company still needed to finalize its debt financing.”