The largest satellite operator in Asia happens to be SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation with a fleet of 18 satellites and is Japan's only provider of multi-channel payTV broadcasting and SATCOM services.
Artistic rendition of a Boeing 702 satellite platform on orbit. Image is courtesy of Boeing.
Now the company and Kacific Broadband Satellites have procured JCSAT-18, a High Throughput Satellite (HTS) based on the Boeing 702 platform. The satellite will address a variety of increasing demands in the mobility and broadband market for SKY Perfect JSAT and a Kacific-1 high-speed Ka-band satellite payload for broadband Internet services to a number of countries in Southeast Asia.
To be built by Boeing, JCSAT-18 will carry a Ku and Ka-band HTS mission over Asia Pacific including Far East Russia as well as a traditional wide-beam mission over East Asia, in response to not only mobility and broadband demands but also government and cellular backhaul demands. The satellite is a condominium satellite shared with Kacific Broadband Satellites Pte. Ltd (Kacific), a Singapore-based satellite operator, that will operate Ka-band HTS satellite broadband services under the satellite name Kacific-1.
“This satellite will be a significant addition to Horizons 3e, another HTS satellite under construction.” Shinji Takada, President & CEO of SJC stated. “With this JCSAT-18, we are excited to continue serving our valued customers in various sectors by thriving in the region where market dynamics are changing rapidly.”
JCSAT-18/Kacific-1 is scheduled to launch in 2019. Since the 1980s, Boeing has built 10 satellites for the JSAT Corporation and Space Communications Corporation, both now part of SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation.