Asia to lead recovery in commercial satellite launches: Arianespace
Asia to lead recovery in commercial satellite launches: Arianespace
Agence France-Presse, Singapore
Asia will lead a global recovery in the commercial satellite
market as the region's telecommunications giants scramble to have
their own relay stations launched into orbit, European industry
specialist Arianespace said on Wednesday.
The global commercial satellite market is recovering from its
worst ever crisis caused by the burst of the dotcom bubble,
Arianespace chief executive Jean-Yves Le Gall said on the
sidelines of CommunicAsia, the region's largest annual
telecommunications trade fair being held here.
Le Gall said growing demand for direct television links
through satellites and high-speed Internet connections are
expected to spur telecommunications firms to put up their own
stations.
The recovery should start this year, with 15 expected
satellite launches worldwide, still down from the previous annual
average of between 20 and 30.
Of the 15 contracts, Le Gall said he expects Arianespace to
get eight.
"Globally, we are in a quite more optimistic mood among the
many players in this market," he said.
He said the company is on track for this target, having
already signed deals this year to launch four commercial
satellites for companies in Japan and Australia.
Arianespace is the world's leading carrier of commercial
satellites, accounting for 60 percent of the launches.
Le Gall said Asia should account for 40 percent of Arianespace
revenues in the next few years, overtaking the United States
which is seen to contribute 30-35 percent and Europe at 25
percent.
"I think that we are seeing here (in Asia) a good recovery
because there are regional players," he said.
"In the United States, we had a lot of consolidation (and) we
now have a very small number of operators ... In Europe, it's the
same."
Among Arianespace's clients in Asia are telecom giants in
Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan, India, Malaysia and
Thailand.
This year, Arianespace signed a deal to lauch two satellites
for Optus, the Australian subsidiary of Singapore
Telecommunication Ltd.
It has also been contracted to carry two satellites for JSAT,
Japan's leading commercial satellite services provider.
Thailand's ShinSat had previously contracted Arianespace to
launch iPSTAR, a S$250 million broadband Internet satellite,
which at seven tons would be the biggest commercial satellite to
be put into orbit.
Le Gall said the company had no definite schedule on when to
launch iPSTAR, while another satellite for PT Telekomunikasi of
Indonesia should be lifted into orbit late this year or early
next year.