MEASAT Global Berhad (MEASAT) has announced that its has successfully completed in-orbit testing for the MEASAT-3d satellite ahead of schedule. This is their most advanced satellite yet and it was launched from French Guiana last month on Ariane 5 flight VA257.
According to MEASAT, the satellite has now entered commercial service after its handover by Airbus Defence and Space (Airbus). MEASAT-3d uses Airbus’ Eurostar 3000 satellite which is built at a cost of RM1.2 billion and has a planned lifespan of more than 18 years. It joins the existing MEASAT-3a and MEASAT-3b satellites on the 91.5°E hotslot which provides an optimal coverage for Malaysia and other countries in the region.
Besides carrying C-band and Ku-band payloads for video and Direct-to-Home (DTH) services, MEASAT-3d also carries a high-throughput multiple spot beam Ka-band payload that can deliver high-speed satellite broadband throughout Malaysia with speeds up to 100Mbps. This can cover unserved areas in Malaysia without access to 4G or fibre.
The MEASAT-3d satellite is also the first of its kind in Asia Pacific to host Q and V-band payload. This would help MEASAT to study radio frequency propagation effects in high rainfall regions such as Malaysia which will enable the design of its next generation satellites. The new satellite also carries an additional L-band payload for KTSAT which will be used for the Korean Augmentation Satellite System (KASS) to enhance accuracy and reliability of GPS signals for airplanes in South Korea.
MEASAT Chief Operating Officer Yau Chyong Lim said “We are pleased with the successful in-orbit testing of MEASAT-3d and its commercial deployment, following the launch last month. I would like to thank the MEASAT and Airbus teams for their solid effort and continuous support. With this, MEASAT-3d is ready to support the Malaysian Government’s National Digital Network (“JENDELA”) target to achieve 100% internet coverage by 2025, as well as our clients’ plans to expand service offerings and improve customer experience.”
The new MEASAT-3d satellite adds capacity and redundancy to MEASAT’s current fleet. It will allow Astro to deliver 4K and 8K video content to every home in Malaysia while Maxis can tap on the satellite for backhaul to expand mobile coverage in rural areas. To bridge the digital divide, the new satellite will offer a higher 30Gbps capacity for its ConnectMe Now service and it aims to connect 2 million underserved Malaysians with 10,000 satellite sites by 2025.
In order to access the faster broadband speeds, ConnectMe will have to migrate its existing customers to the new satellite which will require a hardware upgrade from Ku-band to Ka-band.
In case you missed it, you can check out our coverage of the MEASAT-3d launch last month in the video below:
Related reading
- MEASAT-3d: MEASAT’s 8th satellite successfully launched into space
- Road to 100% internet coverage: Launching a satellite is easy, the real challenge is on the ground
- Annuar Musa: MEASAT-3d to bring 100% internet coverage in Malaysia by 2025
- MEASAT-3d launch is happening this Thursday, here are 5 things you need to know
