Nascent Australian satellite operator NewSat said, during its AGM on 30 November, that it expects to appoint a manufacturer, launch provider and insurance broker for debut satellite Jabiru-1 before the end of the year. Initially scheduled for 2013,…
Nascent Australian satellite operator NewSat said, during its AGM on 30 November, that it expects to appoint a manufacturer, launch provider and insurance broker for debut satellite Jabiru-1 before the end of the year.
Initially scheduled for 2013, the bird’s launch has now been postponed to 2014.
The satellite has yet to be fully financed but NewSat stated that it expects to secure export credit agency backing to fund up to 80% of Jabiru-1’s cost. The company added that it would expect ECA guaranteed loans to pay a margin of less than 4%.
The remainder of the satellite project’s cost is to be financed through equity, with NewSat pointing to investors in the US, London and Asia having already expressed strong interest in the project. Funding is expected to be fully approved in early 2012.
During summer 2010, it was estimated that the Ka-band satellite would cost in the region of A$400m (US$420m). At that time, NewSat hired Lazard and Argosat to advise it on securing ECA backed financing.
So far, the operator has signed US$280m worth of contracts for Jabiru-1 and targets US$575m more in opportunities for military and enterprise clients.
Ku-band Jabiru-2 is planned to be launched shortly after Jabiru-1, and the company is already prospecting for Jabiru-3 and Jabiru-4. Jabiru-5 is also in the pipeline.
To welcome those satellites, the company said it has already acquired the rights to seven orbital slots.
In an interview with SatelliteFinance in October, Cyprus-registered company Kypros Satellites further explained: “Kypros has agreed to contract usage rights to NewSat for primarily Ka-band spectrum at three orbital positions and extend options to NewSat at another four orbital positions.”
When NewSat first disclosed its Jabiru project in late 2007, it had hoped to raise funding from the Australian federal government by being involved in the country’s national broadband network project. However, the government overlooked NewSat and decided instead to commission two Ka-band satellites of its own through NBN Co, the company it established to oversee the universal broadband project.
NBN has yet to select a prime vendor and launch provider for the spacecraft, which it intends to launch in 2015. In the interim, the company has awarded contracts to several companies, including Optus, Ipstar, and iiNet, for the provision of satellite broadband services.
During the AGM, NewSat said that its business would not be in competition with NBN, explaining that “NBN will solely serve consumers” while “NewSat serves blue chip organisations” specifically in the oil & gas, mining and military areas.
