Thales wins Indonesian satellite order
July 3, 2019
By Chris Forrester
Thales Alenia Space confirmed July 1st that it had secured an order to build ‘Satria’, a large satellite capable of delivering 150 Gb/s of capacity.
The order comes from Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN) and is scheduled to launch during 2022.
Once operational, Satria is expected to beam internet connectivity to 149,000 public buildings around the country, 87 per cent of which will comprise schools, clinics and government offices, located outside Java.
“We are particularly honoured to provide to PSN for the ministry’s first VHTS [very high throughput satellite] telecommunication satellite, which will be the most powerful one over the Asian region,” said Thales chief executive officer (CEO) Jean Loic Galle in a joint statement.
PSN president director Adi Rahman Adiwoso said in the statement that the Satria satellite was part of the company and the ministry’s goal “to provide communities with equal access [to the internet].” The satellite is also expected to boost internet penetration above the 64.6 per cent recorded last year, according to the Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association.