[Satellite TODAY Insider 02-28-12] Measat Satellite Systems has announced a key partnership agreement for its soon-to-be launched Africasat-1 satellite. Belgium Satellite Services (BSS) has secured C-band capacity on Africasat-1a with coverage across Africa, the Middle East and southern Europe. BSS provides tailor-made, satellite networking solutions including hosting and hub services, IP over satellite, and TV and broadcasting solutions.

    The Africasat-1a satellite will be launched in the fourth quarter of 2012 at the 46 degrees East orbital slot. It will replace Africasat-1, which has been providing coverage to the region since 2007.

    While Measat derives most of its revenues from the Asia Pacific, it is hoping that it can play more of a role in the African market. “10 percent of our revenues come from Africa. With the growth we are seeing in Asia, that figure is unlikely to change dramatically, although it will likely slightly increase and go up to around 15 percent. While we have positioned ourself as an emerging market, our focus will continue to be Asia,” says Paul Brown-Kenyon, Measat’s CEO.

    Brown-Kenyon says the operator’s African plan is working out well. He adds, “The strategy was initially opportunistic. We moved two old satellites (Measat-1 and Measat-2) to two slots we had in the region. We moved them to protect the orbital rights we had and to start developing a presence in the region. The next phase is to move from an opportunistic business to one that is more saleable longer-term. So, that means putting into those slots station kept satellites. We came to an agreement with partners in Azerbaijan in 2010 for a replacement for the first of these satellites at 46 degrees East (Africasat-1). That satellite should be launched later this year. We have well advanced plans for the second satellite at 5.7 degrees East.”

    For BSS, the deal is a major strategic move to try and monetize Africa’s satellite market. The company derives around 40 percent of its revenues from data, 30 percent from voice and 30 percent from broadcast services. Its CEO, Nitin Dhawan, had hinted to Satellite News that such a deal was in the pipeline in May of last year. “We are now considering growing in the data markets in Africa and the Middle East and possibly in an in-organic way by virtue of acquisitions and partnerships. It’s an era of consolidation so we would be seen strongly working towards that now. We shall soon be joining hands with one of the strong player in Africa who also, like us, strongly believes in good service. Since we are a strong team player, we feel that any kind of partnerships or acquisitions would be good for either side,” he said.