NewSat Increases Hold of the ME Satellite and Mobile Backhaul Market

June 14, 2012 - PRLog -- NewSat Ltd, Australia’s leading satellite communications carrier with global teleport coverage, recently signed in a South Asian satellite reseller  for a  US$30.29 million worth of satellite transmission capacity via Jabiru-1. The recent addition to the Jabiru pre-launch contracts has increased the sold capacity of the Ka-band satellite  to $601 million in market value. The deal will provide  Ka-band service  across the Afghanistan market. The payment will be in full, and is expected to be settled this June.

Jabiru-1 satellite is currently being made by Lockheed Martin, which is now on its sixth month of production. Its target launch date is 2014 via Arianespace. NewSat CEO Adrian Ballintine is pleased with the progress of the Jabiru SATCOM program, especially now that the credit debt funding continues to progress extremely well.

NewSat cites commercial and competitive reasons for not disclosing the name of the satellite reseller.

Afghanistan is one of the high-growth satellite and mobile backhaul markets being eyed by the Australian carrier. Although wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and neighboring countries have subsided, military communications via satellite will likely remain the key driving force behind the growth of the satellite and mobile backhaul market in the region. Moreover, the Middle East serves as a strategic route for international communications network operators. Satellite-based communication looks strong with Afghanistan’s mobile penetration rate of 36% as of 2009 and its 10 million mobile subscribers population.

Early this year, NewSat finalized one of its biggest pre-launch deals with the leading satellite communications carrier of Asia, MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd. In April, the company secured a $13 million capacity deal with an existing teleport customer serving the Middle East.

The Australian independent satellite provider recently increased  frequency allocations for its premium geostationary slots, making Jabiru one of the best positioned geostationary satellite to serve the Middle East. With multi-beam capabiliy, Jabiru is expected to cover larger areas than comparable geostationary satellites.

For more information, visit  http://www.newsat.com/VSAT/cellular-backhaul.html