Australian telco Optus has announced the commissioning of a new Ku-band satellite, Optus 10, to be built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L). Expected to be delivered in 2013, the satellite, which will have 24 transponders, will cover Australia and New…
Australian telco Optus has announced the commissioning of a new Ku-band satellite, Optus 10, to be built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L). Expected to be delivered in 2013, the satellite, which will have 24 transponders, will cover Australia and New Zealand.
According to a SS/L statement, Optus 10 will be the tenth satellite in the SingTel Optus fleet to be launched for Australia and the second built by SS/L. In a separate statement, Vicki Brady, managing director Optus Wholesale and Satellite, said: “Optus 10 will provide more capacity to the Optus satellite fleet as well as enhancing the resilience of the fleet for the benefit of the entire Trans-Tasman market.” In an email to SatelliteFinance, the company wrote that “Optus 10 has been designed as a broadcast, Ku-band satellite to provide flexibility and resilience to our customers such as Foxtel, Channel 9, Channel 7. The satellite will also be able to provide broadband services and other two-way communication services as well.” In the same email, Optus has denied losing its B3 satellite, launched in 1994 and placed at 164E, as previously reported by local newspapers. “The B3 Satellite is operational and functional and under the complete control of experienced satellite operators. There has never been a suggestion that the B3 satellite has been out of control or failing in any sense, neither has the satellite run out of fuel as implied by the journalist,” the company wrote.
According to local reports, Optus is believed to be among the shortlisted companies to provide satellite services to the country’s US$36bn national broadband network (NBN) project.
The fibre network is expected to provide up to 100 Megabits per second to 93% of Australian homes and businesses, with the remaining premises serviced by a minimum speed of 12 Megabits per second using wireless and satellite technologies.
But according to The Australian, Optus’ current generation satellites may not be capable of delivering the 12Mbps required. Both Optus and NBN Co. declined to comment on this report.
Recently, Paul O’Sullivan, the CEO of Optus, reportedly called for the NBN to be run by an independent board to ensure its operation remains at arms’ length both from the government and existing telcos.
In a separate report, Australian incumbent Telstra has said it will delay a shareholder vote on its participation in the NBN.
Telstra last year signed a non-bidding agreement with NBN to participate in the project, which necessitates a structural separation.
According to a statement, talks with NBN Co, are “progressing well but the size and complexity of the deal meant that it would not be ready to go to a shareholder vote on July 1 as planned.” Earlier this month, Telstra said it was looking into new business areas, in case the NBN plans were not successful.
