Shin Sat may sell more broadband services in India, Australia

Kettiya Jittapong

BANGKOK: Thai satellite operator Shin Satellite Plc said on Thursday it

expected to conclude deals to sell broadband services in Australia and India in

early 2002 as part of its advance marketing for its new iPSTAR satellite.

Executive chairman Dumrong Kasemset told reporters the deals, if struck,

could see Shin Sat pre-booking 45 per cent of the new satellite's capacity, up

from the current 25 per cent.

"We expected to conclude the deals early next year. The key point is to

make our clients confident in our services," Dumrong said.

Shin Sat on Thursday launched commercial broadband services in Thailand by

using its iPSTAR satellite's ground station and existing transponders, after

signing contracts to provide the similar services in China and Malaysia earlier

this year.

Dumrong said Shin Sat was expected to capture about 30 per cent of the

broadband market in Thailand. The iPSTAR satellite, expected to be launched in

2003 and seen as the main driver of the company's earnings, will carry high

speed data capacity for Internet and multimedia applications of 35 gigabytes per

second.

The firm now has three conventional satellites, Thaicom I, II and III, making

it one of the biggest satellite operators in Asia. Dumrong said Shin Sat was

ranked the number two satellite operator in Asia, in terms of market share,

after Hong Kong's Asia Satellite Telecommunication.

"When the iPSTAR is launched, our market share should be ahead of our

rivals," Dumrong said. Dumrong said the regional economic slowdown had a

limited impact on Shin Sat's main transponder rental business, given its

competitive costs.

In August, Dumrong said Shin Sat had received $371 million worth of orders

from advance customers, who had already bought a quarter of the capacity of the

iPSTAR.

This compared with projected expenses for iPSTAR of $333 million on a present

value basis. Dumrong said Shin Sat was still waiting for approval from the US

Exim Bank for $250 million in syndicated loans to help finance the new

satellite.

(C) Reuters Limited.