Intelsat Signs Up SkyPort International and CapRock Communications for North American Satellite Capacity

HOUSTON, Sept. 15, 2004/Satnews Daily/ — Houston-based SkyPort International and CapRock Communications have signed long-term capacity leases with Intelsat for satellite services in North America.

According to Intelsat, SkyPort’s two long-term capacity leases on the IA-7 satellite over North America would make Intelsat Skyport’s lead provider of satellite capacity to serve the specialized needs of oil and gas companies, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as government agencies and other businesses with high security requirements. SkyPort is a licensed provider of managed, secure, broadband satellite communications services.

The IA-7, which is one of four recently acquired satellites in the Intelsat Americas fleet, is providing SkyPort's customers with IP-based connectivity in C- and Ku-band across the continental U.S. plus Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Mexico and the Caribbean region. SkyPort is accessing IA-7 via its strategically located teleport at Ellington Field, Texas, a state-of-the-art facility built to Secure Compartmentalized Information Facility (SCIF) specifications.

CapRock Communications, a satellite communications service provider focused on remote industrial markets -- including oilfield, construction, maritime, mining, and disaster relief -- also signed a new long term contract for capacity on Intelsat’s IA-6 satellite. CapRock has over two decades of experience delivering business class communications, including secure corporate networking and telephony services to companies with operations in hard to reach places.

CapRock will provide access to the IA-6 satellite via one of their six international teleports, with fully managed services controlled through their 24/7 global network operations center headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Intelsat said the signing of this contract marks its first penetration into the North American energy market.

SkyPort is a valued new customer in the U.S. market, providing critical communications solutions to customers with high reliability demands on a 24/7 basis, said Mark Rasmussen, Intelsat’s regional vice president, for North America sales.

"Partnering with premier service providers such as SkyPort, and backed by our 40 years experience in global satellite operations, Intelsat is enabling a variety of applications for the converging voice, data and IP requirements of the oil and gas, maritime and financial industries, in addition to the government services market," he added.

Commenting on the new contract with Caprock, Rasmussen said CapRock has been an Intelsat customer for years, using the company’s network to serve various clients in Africa and the Middle East.

"As an industry-leading provider of advanced corporate networks, CapRock brings an outstanding portfolio of services to the exploration and production industry and it's our role to help them make that happen," he said.

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