Dateline Asia
THE ST-1 SATELLITE FOR SINGAPORE AND TAIWAN
by Mark Long
Portions of this
article first appeared in the
May/June 2000 issue of Cable & Satellite Asia magazine
© copyright 2000 MLE INC. All Rights Reserved.
On 25th August 1998, Arianespace launched the ST-1 communications satellite to 88 degrees East Longitude. ST-1 is owned by Singapore Telecom and Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom Company, Ltd. The two companies jointly operate the spacecraft from control centres located in Seletar, Singapore and Taipei, Taiwan, respectively. Because of the satellite’s near perfect launch, enough fuel was conserved extend its mission life by three to four months beyond the 12 years that prime contractor Matra Marconi Space had initially projected for the spacecraft. The estimated cost of the satellite, ground facilities and the Ariane launch vehicle that carried it into space was US$ 240 million.
THE ST-1 SATELLITE OPERATORS
Chunghwa Telecom Company is currently a wholly owned company of the Taiwanese government
that operates domestic and international telecom businesses as well as invests in
telecom-related businesses and other ventures authorised by the Ministry of Transportation
and Communications. However, the Taiwanese government recently announced a two-stage
privatisation process under which 13 percent of Chunghwa Telecom will be offered to local
investors, 12 percent to overseas investors and 5 percent to Chunghwa Telecom employees.
Once this first phase of privatisation is completed next year, the government will offer
another 20 percent to the public and an additional 13 percent to Chunghwa Telecom
employees. Foreign investors will be allowed to purchase their shares on the open market,
but cumulative holdings will be restricted to 30 percent. The intended goal of
privatisation is to usher in a new era of technological advancements as well as help
Chunghwa Telecom to more fully participate in overseas ventures.
Incorporated on 1 April 1992, SingTel is licensed to provide telecommunications and postal services within Singapore. The SingTel Group currently enjoys a market capitalisation of about US$ 30 billion, which makes it one of the largest companies in Asia. The SingTel Group includes subsidiaries involved in mobile phones, paging services, publishing, postal services, investments, repair of submarine cables and sale of telecommunications equipment. The company also participates in strategic alliances and joint ventures throughout the world. To date more than US$ 1.4 billion has been invested in 62 joint ventures and strategic investments in 20 countries, including China, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
THE ST-1 SATELLITE PLATFORM
ST-1 carries sixteen high-power Ku-band transponders and fourteen medium-power C-band
transponders. Weighing over 3,000 kg (6,600 lb.) at launch, ST-1 generates more than 6,500
Watts of electrical power. The satellite’s broad C-band coverage beam extends from
the Middle East to Japan, including all of Southeast Asia.
ST-1 also features two Ku-band spot beams: a "K1" beam that stretches from Taiwan to Singapore and from Indonesia to Malaysia and a "K2" beam centred over the Indian subcontinent.
The ST-1 satellite currently delivers telephony, digital DTH broadcasting, VSAT and other business services throughout the region.Just weeks before ST-1’s launch, the PRC deployed a new Chinasat communications satellite to 87.5 degrees East Longitude—-just 0.5 degrees away from the orbital position that ST-1 was set to occupy. The close proximity between the two spacecraft raised serious questions concerning the potential for interference between the two satellites. As the sole owner of the satellite’s orbital location and frequency assignments, SingTel is responsible for the operation of the satellite under international regulations. In the end, all potential interference problems between ST-1 and Chinasat were resolved through frequency coordination efforts involving the telecommunication authorities of Singapore and the PRC.
The original business plan of the ST-1 operators dedicated eight Ku-band transponders to the satellite’s high-powered K1 beam, which is limited to covering the Indian subcontinent and the nearby island of Sri Lanka. Their goal was to garner a major share of the potentially lucrative digital DTH market for India that many analysts in the region were anticipating. The Indian government, however, subsequently implemented a ban on the introduction of new Ku-band digital DTH services that brought these plans to a screeching halt. Undeterred by the ban, however, SingTel and Chunghwa Telecom eventually were able to book all Ku-band capacity on board the spacecraft.
SATELLITE TRAFFIC ON ST-1
ST-1 currently carries digital DTH services for Taiwan on its "K1" coverage
beam, which is centred over Taiwan. These transmissions can be received by dishes
as small as 90cm in diameter. Taiwan Television Enterprise Ltd. also uses one Ku-band
transponder for satellite newsgathering purposes.
SingTel is currently using C-band capacity on ST-1 to enhance its own telecom and data transmission services as well as to provide occasional video services on behalf of the region’s broadcasters. In October of 1999, SingTel announced that it would use the ST-1 satellite to provide gateway Internet facilities to Eagle IT, a company that Myanmar telecommunication authorities have appointed to establish an educational Intranet and Internet service for the country. SinTel currently provides Internet gateway services to 40 Internet Service Providers based in 20 different countries, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, India, Brunei, Malaysia, Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Australia.
| ST-1 System Facts | |
| Launch Date: Orbital Location: Prime Contractor: Spacecraft type: Mission Lifetime: Satellite Power: System Capacity:
Transponder Polarisation: C-band Power: Ku-band Power:
|
August 25, 1998 88 degrees East Longitude Matra Marconi Space EUROSTAR three-axis stabilised platform 12 years, four months More than 6.5 kilowatts 14 active C-band transponders with 36 MHz bandwidth 16 active Ku-band transponders with 54 MHz bandwidth Horizontal/Vertical 41 dBW EIRP 49 dBW EIRP |
Last Updated: 08/11/00