Nonthaburi, 7 September 2014—Thaicom Public Company Limited’s THAICOM-7 satellite was successfully launched into orbit at 01:00 local time (05:00 UTC) today by a Falcon 9 rocket of Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SPACE X) from Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA.

THAICOM-7 will expand the company’s broadcasting service platform from its orbital position at 120° East and will provide a full range of media and data services tailored to the communication needs of the entertainment industry and telecom operators across Asia and Australasia. 

Mrs. Suphajee Suthumpun, Chairman of the Executive Committee and CEO, Thaicom PLC, said: “The launch of THAICOM-7 is a great success. I would like to thank our partners and team for a job well done. Our new bird will help fulfill the increasing demand in satellite capacity in Thailand and in the Asia Pacific region. THAICOM-7 will help strengthen the company’s servicing capacity, as well as allow it to expand into new markets overseas.”

THAICOM-7 is the cooperation project between Thaicom and Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co., Ltd, built by Space Systems/Loral, U.S.A. The satellite’s wide area beam coverage will allow clients to cross-connect to other regions.  

“Satellites THAICOM-5 and THAICOM-6 which serve Thailand are now at full capacity; the launch of THAICOM-7 will provide additional satellite capacity to serve Thailand’s fast growing broadcasting industry,” added Mrs. Suphajee. “Thaicom is committed to developing and delivering premium satellite services and innovative solutions on an end-to-end basis.” 

Transponder capacity on THAICOM-7 has been fully booked at the time of launch, made up of approximately 50 percent pre-launch sales, with the remainder in the final contract stages. 
 
 
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About THAICOM 
THAICOM Public Company Limited, a leading Asian satellite operator, was established in 1991.  The Company was the first to launch a broadband satellite in the world, and is a leader in developing integrated solutions for satellite broadband and broadcast services.  The Company’s engineering teams provide leading-edge innovative solutions for satellite-based telecommunications services. Since its establishment the Company has launched seven satellites, with four satellites in operation: Thaicom 4 (IPSTAR) provides a variety of broadband and data services, including cellular backhaul, mobility, government USO support, content delivery, business continuity and emergency services in thirteen countries in Asia Pacific. Thaicom 6 is to expand the Company’s broadcast carrying capacity in SE Asia and Africa (by the name “Africom-1”) and is collocated with Thaicom 5 at 78.5 degrees East; the satellites board a combined 700 TV channels both in SD and HD formats. Thaicom 7 was launched in September 2014 to provide media & data services for Asia’s and Australasia’s entertainment and telecom industries at 120 degrees East.  Thaicom 8 will be launched in 2016 to expand Thaicom’s servicing capacity and footprint in the region.
 
THAICOM is traded on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) under the trade symbol “THCOM”. For more information, visit www.thaicom.net and www.ipstar.com.
 
 PR CONTACT:
Thaicom
Torsten Notzke                               (66 2) 596-5083, (66 81) 372-5772             torstenn@thaicom.net
 
Proactive PR
Martyn Gettings                              (44 1) 636-812152, (44 7) 769-748670        martyn.gettings@proactive-pr.com   
 
Thaicom Public Company Limited
41/103 Rattanathibet Road, Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand 
Website: www.thaicom.net