Hughes Network Systems has signed a US$115m loan facility with BNP Paribas and Societe Generale for the launch of its next-generation Ka-band broadband satellite Jupiter in the first half of 2012.
The loan signed by Hughes carries a fixed interest rate…
Hughes Network Systems has signed a US$115m loan facility with BNP Paribas and Societe Generale for the launch of its next-generation Ka-band broadband satellite Jupiter in the first half of 2012.
The loan signed by Hughes carries a fixed interest rate of 5.13%, and has a repayment period of 8.5 years starting after the launch. The facility is now subject to customary closing conditions, which should be completed shortly.
The bird will be placed into orbit by French launch service provider Arianespace, hence why the financial package is being guaranteed by French export credit agency COFACE.
“I am very pleased to have entered into this COFACEbacked facility with attractive terms that include a fixed interest rate and long tenor,” commented Pradman Kaul, Hughes chairman and CEO.
The giant Jupiter satellite is being built by Space Systems Loral and will have throughput capacity of 100 gigabits per second, more than 10 times that of Hughes’ current flagship broadband satellite, Spaceway 3.
Besides Hughes, ViaSat has also ordered a large Kaband satellite as satellite broadband becomes increasingly in demand. ViaSat-1 is scheduled to be launched in the first half of 2011 and, according to ViaSat, it will have the highest capacity of all current and planned North American satellites with 10 times the throughput of any other Ka-band bird.
