Shin Sat to sell more iPSTAR

Shin Sat to sell more iPSTAR

BANGKOK (Reuters): Thai satellite operator Shin Satellite Plc said on Friday it planned to sell 10 percent of the capacity of its new broadband iPSTAR satellite to Indian clients, adding to the 25 percent capacity sold so far.

The firm also said it expected to sign new contracts early next year to sell a further 32 percent of the satellite's capacity to new customers in Australia and Japan.

The satellite will be commercially launched in 2003.

Executive Chairman Dumrong Kasemset told reporters Shin Sat was in final talks with potential customers in India.

The iPSTAR satellite, expected to be the main driver of the company's earnings, will have a capacity of 35 gigabytes per second (gbps) and will allow high speed data communications for Internet and multimedia applications.