Indonesia in satellite j-v with Thales Alenia
September 9, 2020
By Chris Forrester
Satelit Nusantara Tiga (SNT) and Thales Alenia Space, a joint-venture between Thales (67 per cent) and Leonardo (33 per cent), have signed an agreement to start the activities of the broadband telecoms satellite SATRIA.
Thales Alenia Space, acting as prime contractor for this project, initially signed on July 2019 for a consortium led by Indonesia’s satellite operator Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN) on behalf of Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (Kominfo), will deliver the High Throughput Satellite (HTS) based on the Thales Spacebus NEO full electric platform and fitted with a fifth-generation digital processor (5G).
The full Ka-band SATRIA satellite, to be positioned at 146° East, will carry more than 150 gigabits per second over the full Indonesian territory. Dedicated to narrow the digital divide, SATRIA has the ambition to connect around 145,000 areas including 90,000 schools, 40,000 hospitals and public buildings as well as regional government sites not linked by existing satellite or terrestrial infrastructure. The satellite will contribute to the digital infrastructure developments in Indonesia.
“We are particularly honored to reach this important milestone with the beginning of the industrial activities for the SATRIA programme, first HTS telecommunication satellite in Indonesia and the most powerful one over the Asian region”, said Hervé Derrey, CEO/Thales Alenia Space. “SATRIA will take benefit of all the expertise already developed by Thales Alenia Space on its Spacebus NEO platform as well as on its HTS payloads.”
“With a capacity of 150 Gbps, the satellite can provide more than three times the combined national capacities that are currently in use. We are confident that SATRIA can be the solution to the digital gap that still exists in Indonesia,” said Adi Rahman Adiwoso, CEO of PSN.
The consortium comprises PSN, which has formed Satelit Nusantara Tiga (SNT) to be operating company to carry on the project. The shareholders of SNT are PSN, PT Pintar Nusantara Sejahtera (Pintar), PT Nusantara Satelit Sejahtera, and PT Dian Semesta Sentosa (subsidiary of PT Dian Swastatika Sentosa Tbk). PSN and Pintar are the majority shareholders of SNT and both will maintain majority ownership in the operating company throughout the project lifetime.