Satellite demand to pick soon
Satellite demand to pick soon
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Singapore
Demand for commercial satellites in Asian-Pacific markets is
expected to pick up as telecommunications operators in the region
seek to expand their infrastructure to meet surging Internet
usage, according to Arianespace, the French-based satellite
launch company.
Jean-Marie Luton, the chairman and CEO of Arianespace, said
Asian-Pacific markets still needed more satellites to support the
rapid development of the telecommunications sector in the region.
"My view is that the telecommunications industry will rebound
in a fairly dramatic manner in a year or two. In this situation,
operators will demand (satellite) launch providers that can meet
this upsurge in the market," said Luton.
Arianespace, which has a long-established foothold in the
region, will seek to fulfill the new demand, Luton.
"This is what we have been doing for years, and this is what
we will continue to maintain for years to come," Luton said on
the sidelines of CommunicAsia 2002, the 14th ASEAN International
Communications and Information Technology Exhibition and
Conference.
Arianespace is one of the exhibitors participating in the
event, being held in Singapore from June 18 to June 21.
At the press briefing, which attended by dozens of journalists
from the Asia Pacific, Luton was accompanied by Richard Bowles,
the representative director of Arianespace's Singapore office
and Philippe Berterottiere, the senior vice president for sales
and marketing and programs at Arianespace.
To anticipate the upswing in demand in the Asia Pacific,
Arianespace has set up representative offices both in Japan and
Singapore.
Luton said of the total 248 contracts signed since Arianespace
was formed in 1980, about 36 satellites were for the Asian-
Pacific markets, led by Japan with 17, India with eight and
Indonesia with three.
Asia still lags behind the U.S. in terms of Internet usage,
but people in the region are keenly interested in the new medium
of communication. This will make Asia an important market for
commercial satellites in the future, he said.
Arianespace has launched three Indonesian satellites -- the
Palapa C2 in May 1996, the Cakrawarta in November 1997 and the
Telkom-1 in August 1999.
Both the Palapa C2 and Telkom-1 are owned by state-owned
telecommunications firm PT Telkom, while the Cakrawarta is owned
by multimedia company PT Media Citra Indostar.
Indonesia now has six satellites in orbit: Telkom-1, Palapa B-
2R, Palapa B4, Palapa C1, Palapa C2 and Cakrawarta.
These six satellites are equipped with 111 transponders to meet
the various telecommunications needs of hundreds of local and
international users.
Arianespace and the U.S. company Delta are now competing to
win the tender for the launch of another telecommunications
satellite owned by Telkom: Telkom-2.
The Telkom-2 satellite is expected to be put into orbit
sometime in 2004 to replace the Palapa-B4 satellite, which will
become obsolete in 2003.
The Palapa-B4, made by the United States' Hughes
Communications International, was launched into geostationary
orbit on May 14, 1992, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, using a
Delta 7925 rocket.
Indonesia became the first Asian nation to operate a domestic
satellite when it launched the Palapa C2 in 1996. At that time,
the satellite-based domestic telecommunications system was only
used by developed countries like Canada and the United States.
Talks on the manufacture and launch of Telkom-2 began several
years ago, but were suspended following the Asian economic crisis
in late 1997.
Luton said that as of June, Arianespace had launched seven
satellites this year and planned another six launches before the
end of the year.
"That would bring us to a record setting 13 launches in one
year," Luton said.
Arianespace is a consortium of 53 firms from 12 European
countries, of which French companies together hold the largest
share at 55.54 percent, followed by German firms with 18.58
percent, Italian firms with 8.11 percent and Belgium firms with
4.17 percent.