PARIS — Satellite-fleet operator Shin Satellite Public Co. Ltd. of Thailand said it will be filing an insurance claim for the early October loss of the Thaicom 3 satellite but that it is not certain how much it can expect from insurance underwriters.
Bangkok-based Shin said that Thaicom 3, an Alcatel Alenia Space satellite launched in 1997 that already had suffered a loss of about half its power in February 2003, lost its remaining solar-power-generating capacity Oct. 1.
The satellite’s customers had been moved to Shin’s new Thaicom 5 satellite in July. Thaicom was subsequently moved to a new orbital slot, 50.5 degrees east, from where Shin had hoped to inaugurate coverage over the Middle East.
Shin had received a $33 million insurance payment following the 2003 failure on Thaicom 3. Shin officials had hoped that the satellite would operate through 2008.
Shin reported that the company’s total satellite revenue for the three months ending Sept. 30 was 1.014 billion Thai baht ($27.8 million), a 19 percent increase over the previous quarter and a 16 percent increase over the same period a year ago.
Shin’s large iPStar satellite, designed to deliver broadband Internet service to consumers and small businesses throughout the Pacific region, was responsible for about 36 of this revenue, with Shin’s other satellites — Thaicom 1a, 2, 3 and 5 — generating the remaining sales.
Shin Executive Chairman Dumrong Kasemset, said in a Nov. 15 conference call with investors that as of Sept. 30 Shin had delivered about 50,000 iPStar user terminals, with Thailand and Australia the most active markets.
Kasemset said Shin had underestimated the regulatory difficulties in starting commercial iPStar service in 14 nations simultaneously, and that it had especially misjudged the obstacles to debuting commercial service in China and India — the two largest markets in iPStar’s coverage area.
With the inauguration of an iPStar gateway in Shanghai scheduled in December, Shin will begin selling iPStar throughout China in early 2007. Two other gateway facilities already have been completed in China.
Kasemset said India presents even greater regulatory challenges than China, and that it remains unclear even now, after months of effort, when commercial iPStar service will start there. The company is forecasting a mid-2007 start date.
“The complications in India are the most difficult,” Kasemset said. “Not many [foreign] satellite operators have been able to enter India. It’s no easy job getting landing rights. We didn’t anticipate the length of time it takes. We’re getting there, but until it’s done I would not like to comment on when it will be completed.”
Kasemset insisted that Shin will not subsidize the cost of the iPStar user terminals to stimulate sales. Sales of user equipment accounted for about 60 percent of the iPStar-related revenue in the three months ending Sept. 30; the rest was subscription revenue from customers.
Shin expects to have about 10,000 subscribers in Australia by the end of 2006. Government subsidies for companies offering rural broadband access in Australia combined with that country’s straightforward regulatory regime has stimulated signups there for the iPStar service.
Overall, Kasemset said IPStar’s commercial deployment continues to be a drag on Shin’s finances, and is a principal reason why the company post ed a net loss. He said that with China about to begin iPStar service and India not far behind, iPStar should report an operating profit in 2007.
