Ibadan, 7 March 2024. – Thaicom Public Company Limited (Thaicom) has selected Astranis to provide THAICOM-9, the newest addition to Thaicom’s fleet of high-throughput satellites at 119.5 degrees East.
Thaicom’s subsidiary, Space Tech Innovation Limited (STI) and Astranis have consequently signed an agreement for an Astranis MicroGEO satellite to provide Ka-band services over Asia, with an option for expanded coverage through future satellites. THAICOM-9 will deliver a significant confidence boost to Thaicom’s valued customers and partners across the region. The satellite will tentatively launch in 2025.
THAICOM-9 will provide the Company with next-generation operating capabilities, including an industry-leading time to market as well as the flexibility to adapt its mission while in orbit. The satellite features high-performance software-defined radio, that can change coverage and bandwidth allocation on orbit to serve multiple geographies while also allowing it to dynamically change frequencies, power levels, and other operational variables on the fly.
Patompob (Nile) Suwansiri, Thaicom’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “THAICOM-9 will ensure continuity of service for our customers and capture the immediate demand in our key markets, as well as enable the innovation and development of a wide range of products and services to broaden market opportunities in the region.” The CEO also added, “This satellite will support Thaicom’s long-term success in our core satellite business and continue our journey to be a leading space tech company in the region.”
Likewise, John Gedmark, CEO and Co-founder of Astranis, said, “Astranis will deploy more geostationary satellites than the rest of the industry combined over the next three years, and to have Thaicom deliver this vote of confidence in Astranis’s technical and operational maturity should signal to other customers that the next generation of satellite technology in GEO is already here, today.”
