Kacific Broadband Satellites has ordered its Kacific-1 satellite from Boeing after a successful US147 million capital raising from Australian retail investors to fund the satellite purchase as well as launch services, ground systems and all other project costs.
The Singapore-based satellite operator says to secure the funding it has signed 15 managed bandwidth wholesale agreements in 14 different countries for a total value of US$434 million.
The new satellite is based on the Boeing 702 satellite platform and will be shared with JCSAT-18, ordered by SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation.
The company says the satellite is designed to deliver uncontended broadband throughput via 57 Ka-band narrow beams, each having a capacity up to 1.25Gbps, with the highest signal power ever achieved in the region.
{loadposition peter}The beams are selectively tailored to cover precise pockets of demand in a geographically dispersed footprint of 20 Pacific and South East Asian nations and strategic positioning of the beams has enabled Kacific to sell capacity in 51 out of 57 beams so far, through take-or-pay contracts, with most beams exceeding 70 percent firm capacity bookings and several being almost saturated.
Christian Patouraux, Kacific CEO, says Kacific selected the Boeing 702 because it is a reliable High-Throughput Satellite platform delivering strong economics and a consistent high-quality connectivity across all service beams.
“We do pure play broadband. We focus on direct-to-premise. We precisely place capacity where it is most needed precisely place capacity. This will yield price points that will unleash internet participation and usage. With the launch of Kacific-1, in 2019, people in areas currently lacking affordable high speed internet will be able to access online education, healthcare and public services, and grow their local economies. Delivering internet speeds over 100 Mbps on low cost, small form factor terminals, will help connect the dots of South East Asia and the Pacific to the digital world.”
“Boeing is pleased Kacific has chosen our flight-proven scalable 702 satellite for its next-generation broadband satellite service,” said Mark Spiwak, president of Boeing Satellite Systems International.
“The capability and performance of the Boeing 702 satellite will enable Kacific to meet increasing demands for connectivity in the Asia-Pacific region, reaching new and underserved markets with reliable and cost-effective satellite internet services.”
“Driven by its entrepreneurial culture and early sales success in Asia-Pacific, Kacific is now expanding its model to other regions with plans for follow-on satellites,” Patouraux said.