Eutelsat and Thaicom to Partner for New Software-Defined Satellite over Asia

August 07, 2023

Eutelsat Communications announces that its subsidiary Eutelsat Asia PTE. LTD. has signed a partnership agreement with Space Tech Innovation Limited (STI), a subsidiary of Thaicom, a leading Asian satellite operator, related to a new software-defined satellite (SDS) to be positioned at the 119.5° East orbital slot over Asia.

Under this partnership, Eutelsat will expand its service over the continent. Eutelsat is committed to lease and operate the service for half of the capacity on the new satellite during its lifetime.

The state-of-the art geostationary SDS will be procured by STI and will be one of a new generation of satellites offering instant in-orbit adjustment and seamless reconfiguration, optimising the use of the in-orbit resources to the benefit of both the operator and the customer. It is due to be delivered in calendar 2027.

Through this satellite, Eutelsat will expand its in-orbit assets by some 50 Gbps of incremental capacity over Asia to address surging demand for connectivity in the region. The SDS’s performance, combined with the high level of flexibility in terms of coverage, bandwidth allocation, and power levels, will assure an unparalleled quality of service to Eutelsat’s customers in the Asian region. It will be fully compatible with Eutelsat and OneWeb’s GEO / LEO multi-orbit approach.

Eva Berneke, Chief Executive Officer of Eutelsat Communications commented: “This strategic partnership with Thaicom to leverage the 119.5° East position, perfectly located to address the entire Asian region, represents a great opportunity for Eutelsat as well as an innovative investment approach. We are confident in Thaicom’s experience as a leading satellite operator in Asia with over 30 years’ experience in the industry and its expertise in the Asia-Pacific market. This new generation satellite, fully compatible with our future LEO-GEO offer will enable Eutelsat to address the dynamic growth in connectivity demand in the region.”

Patompob (Nile) Suwansiri, Thaicom's Chief Executive Officer, said that “I am very delighted that we have secured a long-term partnership with Eutelsat, one of the largest global satellite operators in the world. This partnership is strategic for our new satellite project at the orbital slot of 119.5 degrees East as it not only provides a long-term and secure utilization of 50% of our new satellite, but more importantly, it will create synergies between the two organizations to capture new growth opportunities in the future. This is an important milestone for Thaicom as we continue our journey to be a leading space tech company in the region.”