Nonthaburi, 8 September 2014 - Thaicom Public Company Limited’s THAICOM-7 satellite was successfully launched into orbit at 01:00 local time (05:00 UTC) on Sunday 7 September by a Falcon 9 rocket of Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SPACE X) from Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA.
THAICOM-7 will expand the company’s broadcasting service platform from its orbital position at 120° East and will provide a full range of media and data services tailored to the communication needs of the entertainment industry and telecom operators across Asia and Australasia.
Mrs. Suphajee Suthumpun, Chairman of the Executive Committee and CEO, Thaicom PLC, said: “The launch of THAICOM-7 is a great success. I would like to thank our partners and team for a job well done. Our new bird will help fulfill the increasing demand in satellite capacity in Thailand and in the Asia Pacific region. THAICOM-7 will help strengthen the company’s servicing capacity, as well as allow it to expand into new markets overseas.”
THAICOM-7 is the cooperation project between Thaicom and Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co., Ltd, built by Space Systems/Loral, U.S.A. The satellite’s wide area beam coverage will allow clients to cross-connect to other regions.
“Satellites THAICOM-5 and THAICOM-6 which serve Thailand are now at full capacity; the launch of THAICOM-7 will provide additional satellite capacity to serve Thailand’s fast growing broadcasting industry,” added Mrs. Suphajee. “Thaicom is committed to developing and delivering premium satellite services and innovative solutions on an end-to-end basis.”
Transponder capacity on THAICOM-7 has been fully booked at the time of launch, made up of approximately 50 percent pre-launch sales, with the remainder in the final contract stages.
