Measat to invest $ 175 m on fourth satellite

Measat Satellite Systems Sdn Bhd, a fully owned subsidiary company under the Usaha Tegas group owned by Malaysian Business tycoon T.Ananda Krishnan will launch the fourth satellite during the third quarter of this year investing US$175 mln.

Measat’s Chief Operating Officer Paul I. Brown Kenyon told a visiting media delegation to its satellite facility in Cyberjaya in Kuala Lumpur that satellite technology can be used to provide a range of telecommunications and media services such as GSM Backhaul, distance learning, DTH, Corporate networks, remote connectivity, telemedicine, video conferencing, digital cinema, data broadcasting as well as voice over IP.

At present Measat operates three spacecraft providing services over the wider Asia-Pacific, Europe and African regions in 145 countries.

He said that they will hold discussions later this week with Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel officials on supporting SLT’s coverage through Measat’s extensive satellite coverage in orbit.

Kenyon said that they were happy to work with SLT even to launch its own satellite to the satisfaction of Sri Lankan customers. He said there are a number of customers using their satellite but declined to name them. “While Measat satellites support the core part of Malaysia’s ICT infrastructure, they also support a strong regional customer base”, the COO said.

Three of the four Measat spacecraft in orbit at present provide satellite coverage over Sri Lanka”, Kenyon said. The Measat network provides satellite capacity to one of the strongest Direct to Home (DTH) pay tv platforms across Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and India.

The network is also used by international broadcasters to distribute television programming and by regional telecom operators to support GSM, corporate VSAT and remote connectivity networks.

The Measat state-of-the art facility in Cyberjaya is also a customer teleport providing a complete range of satellite solutions including video playout and satellite-fibre solutions.

Measat has the right to 16 orbital slots around the world and it is currently in discussions to develop new orbital slots to expand reach and scale of the Measat network.

SG