Spacecom Books Amos 5 Capacity for Africa

By Peter B. de Selding

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LE BOURGET, France — Satellite fleet operator Spacecom of Israel on June 20 announced it had booked a $12.5 million contract with an unnamed African Internet provider for C- and Ku-band capacity aboard Spacecom’s Amos-5 satellite, scheduled for launch by the end of 2011.

Tel Aviv-based Spacecom will operate Amos-5 at 17 degrees east longitude, an orbital slot to which it has access following an agreement with Moscow-based Intersputnik.

Amos-5 is under construction by ISS Reshetnev of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, which is also building the Russian government Loutch data-relay satellite that is scheduled to be launched on the same Russian Proton-M rocket that will carry Amos-5.

“The market for Ku-band is growing in Africa because technology has greatly negated rain interference challenges and has also brought down customers’ initial setup costs,” Spacecom Vice President Eyal Copitt said in a June 21 statement. “Amos-5’s orbital position at 17°E will provide superb signal strength to answer broadcasters’ needs, as well as those of the data market throughout Africa.”