Thaicom Orders Airbus OneSat Software-Defined Satellite
Summary
This is Thaicom’s first flexible satellite and will give the operator the ability to adapt coverage, frequency, and capacity. Thaicom said it will give the option for partner operators to share payload capacity with a lower cost. Thaicom recently announced one of its subsidiaries has an agreement with Eutelsat to lease half the capacity on a new software-defined satellite, but at the time the manufacturer was not named. “[The satellite] will allow flexibility and instant reconfiguration to adapt dynamically to the service areas and will provide a significant confidence boost for Thaicom’s valued customers and partners throughout Asia Pacific,” Suwansiri said in the news release. “This is a significant milestone for Thaicom as we forge ahead to further grow our broadband satellite business in the region.” For Airbus, it is the ninth order in the manufacturer’s software-defined OneSat product line.