Amos-5 during pre-launch processing in Baikonur in November 2011. Credit: Roskosmos

...on its AMOS-5 satellite servicing Africa has exercised a contractual clause to extend services on the satellite for a total of five years. This multi-year extension is worth approximately US$11 million. The African communications provider is using AMOS-5 for supplying data services over the satellite's pan-African C-band beam. The satellite is serving Africa from the 17 degrees East orbital position with C- and Ku-band beams. It began commercial operations on January 25, 2012 and is becoming a prime carrier of African satellite communications traffic in both broadcast and data services.

Spacecom's Senior Vice President for Africa Sales, Eyal Copitt, said, "We are pleased that our client, after only two months of full service on AMOS-5, has already decided to fulfill a complete five-year contract with us. This is a testament to the excellence of service we provide and the strong relationships we build. AMOS-5 is providing Spacecom with an exciting and extremely powerful platform for African communication companies, organizations and governments. We look forward to realizing its tremendous potential.”