Telenor Satellite Broadcasting (TSBc), the Norwegian satellite operator, is seeing substantial growth in satellite services for the maritime market. Its upcoming satellite, Thor 7, is aimed at tapping these opportunities using Ka-band for the first…
Telenor Satellite Broadcasting (TSBc), the Norwegian satellite operator, is seeing substantial growth in satellite services for the maritime market. Its upcoming satellite, Thor 7, is aimed at tapping these opportunities using Ka-band for the first time.
Speaking to SatelliteFinance during a company’s event in Oslo in late April, the CEO of TSBc, Cato Halsaa, said that he is a “strong believer in maritime Ka-band” and insisted on the underlying growth potentials present in this market.
Scheduled to be launched at the end of 2013 by Arianespace at 1W, Thor 7 will carry a Ka-band payload focusing on the maritime industry in the Nordics but also in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as a Ku-band payload for TV broadcasting in Central and Eastern Europe.
The bird, built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) is expected to cost NKr1.6bn (US$279m) and Halsaa said that only one remaining part of the investment has not been committed yet, “and that is insurance”.
ISB was selected as the broker during a beauty contest last autumn and the company is currently “in the midst of placing the insurance contract,” explained Halsaa.
“After really good rates at 11% for Thor 5 and Thor 6, we now hope to be around 8%,” he added.
Concerning financing sources, TSBc decided against tapping export credit with the CEO saying that given “Telenor’s financial situation, there’s no real advantage in using it.”
SatelliteFinance had previously reported that the operator has decided to finance all of its costs through parent company Telenor, the Norwegian telecoms incumbent.
TSBc already operates three satellites: Thor III, at an inclined orbit at 4W, as well as Thor 5 and Thor 6 at 1W. It also shares a satellite with Intelsat, IS 10-02, at 1W.
As for future satellites, Halsaa said that there were currently no fixed plans but confirmed that the sharing of satellites as well as hosted payloads are opportunities that the company may consider in the future.
He also mentioned Boeing’s launch of an all-electric spacecraft, saying that this new technology might be really interesting, especially for replacement satellites, “for which you can afford to wait a few extra months for the placement into orbit.” But Halsaa highlighted that the main question will be the affordability of this new spacecraft.
The company may also consider using commercial launch provider SpaceX in the future. “We see Space X as a very serious supplier and they were actively bidding against older launchers for Thor 7.” He added that the presence of Space X in the launch market is a good thing as the company has been really helpful in creating a new dynamic in the business.
In the first quarter of 2012, TSBCs had revenues of NKr250m (US$42.7m), which represents a 4.4% increase on Q1 2011, mainly due to Thor II, the company said.
This is, however, slightly less than the NKr257m (US$43.8m) reported in Q4 2011.
EBIDTA grew 9%, compared to Q1 2011, to NKr178m (US$30.4m).