Eutelsat and Thaicom partner for new satellite over Asia

France’s satellite operator Eutelsat Communications has entered a partnership with Thaicom’s Space Tech Innovation Limited (STI) to expand its service over Asia where it will lease and operate a new software-defined satellite (SDS)

Under this partnership, a new software-defined satellite to be positioned at the 119.5° East orbital slot over Asia.

The SDS will be procured by STI and is due to be delivered by 2027. The company said it will be one of a new generation of satellites which provides instant in-orbit adjustment and seamless reconfiguration, optimising the use of the in-orbit resources to the benefit of both the operator and the customer.

Through this satellite, Eutelsat will expand its in-orbit assets by some 50 Gbps of incremental capacity over Asia to address surging demand for connectivity in the region. According to Eutelsat, the SDS will be fully compatible with Eutelsat and OneWeb’s GEO / LEO multi-orbit approach.

Eva Berneke, chief executive officer of Eutelsat Communications said: “This strategic partnership with Thaicom to leverage the 119.5° East position, perfectly located to address the entire Asian region, represents a great opportunity for Eutelsat as well as an innovative investment approach. We are confident in Thaicom’s experience as a leading satellite operator in Asia with over 30 years’ experience in the industry and its expertise in the Asia-Pacific market. This new generation satellite, fully compatible with our future LEO-GEO offer will enable Eutelsat to address the dynamic growth in connectivity demand in the region.”

Patompob (Nile) Suwansiri, Thaicom’s chief executive officer, said “This partnership is strategic for our new satellite project at the orbital slot of 119.5 degrees East as it not only provides a long-term and secure utilization of 50% of our new satellite, but more importantly, it will create synergies between the two organizations to capture new growth opportunities in the future. This is an important milestone for Thaicom as we continue our journey to be a leading space tech company in the region.”