StarBand, America’s first consumer high-speed, two-way satellite Internet provider, has signed a five-year agreement to extend its lease of six satellite transponders on the Telstar 7 satellite currently operated by Loral Skynet.
The high-powered Telstar 7 satellite, located at 129(degree) West Longitude, provides comprehensive coverage of the continental United States as well as Alaska and Hawaii. The agreement continues an accord that has been in place between StarBand and Skynet since the launch of StarBand in 2000.
“This agreement enables the ongoing growth of StarBand and its customer base and ensures the capacity for tens of thousands of StarBand’s current customers located across the U.S.,” said StarBand Chief Executive Officer Zur Feldman.
In October 2003, Loral Space & Communications accepted a bid by Intelsat Ltd., a global satellite communications provider, to purchase Loral’s North American fleet of satellites including Telstar 7 as part of Loral’s Chapter 11 reorganization.
Last week, Loral filed an amendment in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York incorporating the StarBand agreement as part of its sale to Intelsat. The agreement, including a provision that Intelsat assume the StarBand-Loral agreement, was approved by Loral’s bankruptcy court on March 15.
“StarBand will launch a stream of innovative new products and services this year — the first one to be announced later this month,” said Feldman. “As such, this agreement was critical in securing the room for growth anticipated from these new services.”
Following StarBand’s own emergence from Chapter 11 late last year, the company has secured relationships with several new partners in order to launch a wide array of new products and services. These services will meet the broadband needs of a wider audience, provide improved performance levels, and deliver wider operating system compatibility.
