Thais to put NZ net access in orbit

By CHRIS BARTON IT editor

Thai firm Shin Satellite is to invest $15 million on an Auckland-based satellite system that promises to provide fast internet access anywhere in New Zealand.

A pilot of Shin's first-generation IPStar service is available now using ground station equipment in Sydney and the Intelstat 804 satellite. But the service will get a significant boost next year when Shin's IPStar-1 next generation satellite is launched.

The new satellite, part of a US$350 million ($581 million) investment by Shin, will have three "spot beams" over New Zealand giving fast internet access for consumers using an 85cm satellite dish of 1 Megabit per second (Mbps) - eight times faster than Telecom's Jetstream Starter service.

It also will provide 45 gigabits per second of bandwidth - about the same as the Southern Cross cable link between Australia and New Zealand after its launch in 2000.

Regional manager, international, Teerask Sawekpun said Shin expected to sign a contract this month for the teleport gateway equipment for the new service.

He confirmed IPStar was a bidder in the satellite-based "region 15" of the Government's Probe project to provide broadband to all New Zealand schools, but said the investment in New Zealand would proceed regardless of whether it was successful in the tender.

Shin was aiming to provide customer satellite dishes and equipment costing US$1000 ($1660).

The New Zealand teleport is one of 18 gateways in 14 territories planned for what IPStar is calling "the largest broadband satellite in the world". IPStar gateways operate now in Australia, Thailand, Myanmar and Taiwan.

Ericsson, which will manage the networks in Australia and New Zealand, demonstrated a clear video conference call from Auckland to Wellington over satellite at 384 kilobits per second.

Ericsson business development manager Ray Mason also showed streaming video over the internet at 700 kilobits per second and handed off good quality satellite voice calls to a mobile and cordless phone.

Shin Satellite's NZ representative, John Humphrey, said the service could provide access speeds of up to 4Mbps downstream and 8Mbps upstream.

Shin has yet to say who will be its retail partners in New Zealand but, Humphrey said, the new service offered the potential to reduce bandwidth costs by between 40 per cent and 80 per cent.

Shin Satellite

* Subsidiary of Shin Corporation, Thailand's largest telecoms group.

* Listed on Thai stock exchange.

* 2002 profit of $58m on revenue of $225m.

* Market value $392m.

* Controlled by the family of the Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra.

* Has three satellites in geostationary orbit covering India, Asia, Australia and NZ.