SingTel and Chunghwa Telecom have revealed plans to launch their second satellite in mid-May 2011.
The companies, which will own and operate the satellite in a joint venture, said the ST-2 satellite has completed assembly and testing.
It will replace the ST-1 satellite, which launched in August 1998, and was also a joint venture between the Singaporean and Taiwanese operators.
SingTel business vice president Bill Chang said the ST-2 will be nearly twice as powerful as its predecessor, have 20% more transponder capacity and a wider coverage footprint.
“ST-2 will help increase our capacity to meet growing customer demand for fixed and mobile satellite services in the broadcast, maritime and oil & gas industries.” he said.
The craft's C-band and Ku-band coverage will span central and southeast Asia, India and the middle east.
Chang said SingTel and Chunghwa had already leased over 70% of the ST-2's capacity. It was manufactured chiefly by Mitsubishi Electric.
SingTel's Australian subsidiary, Optus, owns and operates a fleet of five satellites. SingTel also leases capacity in a number of other global and regional satellites, and is a 45% partner in a joint venture with Hong Kong's APT Satellite.