15 April 2002
TONGASAT, the Friendly Islands Satellite Communication Company of the Kingdom
of Tonga, announces today the successful purchase and acquisition of ESIAFI-1,
the former COMSTAR D4 telecommunication satellite originally operated by COMSAT.
ESIAFI (“Star Trail”) will deliver commercial telecommunications capacity
from its new location over the Indian Ocean. The high-capacity geostationary
satellite has been purchased from owner/operator Seattle Scientific Corporation.
Performance tests are currently being carried out after the successful drift of
the satellite to one of the Kingdom of Tonga’s filings at the 70°E orbital
slot, from where it will operate.
This is the first satellite which Tongasat will own and operate, establishing an
important milestone in Tongasat’s history, and will be
offering multiple C-band transponders for customers in the ESIAFI-1
footprint.
ESIAFI-1 will provide telephone, television and data services to major portions
of Asia and Europe. |
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