Office des Postes et Telecommunications of French Polynesia (OPT) has signed a multitransponder contract for capacity on Intelsat’s new satellite IS-18.
The contract, which spans the 15-year expected life of the satellite, expands the services currently provided to OPT on Intelsat’s IS-701 satellite. Intelsat designed the Ku-band beam on IS-18 to provide coverage of all of French Polynesia. The Ku-band beam’s broader footprint also reaches the Cook Islands.
OPT is experiencing growing demand for its domestic and international services and expects to use Ku-band capacity on the IS-18 satellite for its domestic DTH service and to offer VSAT and Internet services to its outer islands in the South Pacific.
The IS-18 satellite will provide services to the United States, French Polynesia, Australia, East Asia, New Caledonia and other Pacific islands. The satellite's C-band payload will serve East Asia, the Pacific and the western United States, and its Ku-band payload will serve French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific and the western United States. Following its successful launch and deployment in 2011, IS-18 will be located at 180 degrees east longitude, replacing Intelsat’s IS-701.
For more information, visit www.intelsat.com.
