Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) said it reached an agreement with Intelsat LLC for the design of the Intelsat Americas-9 satellite – a high-power, C- and Ku-band satellite that ultimately will provide service to North and Central America, and the Caribbean. The satellite will carry 44 transponders providing 1,994 MHz of downlink capacity, and it is based on SS/L’s 1300 geostationary satellite platform. IA-9 is scheduled to be delivered to Intelsat in 2007, and SS/L has been authorized to begin construction.