China Spacecom to Activate Iridium Satellite Gateway
BETHESDA, MD, March 28, 2007 - Satnews Daily - China Space Mobile Satellite
Telecommunications Co., Ltd. (China Spacecom) intends to open an Iridium gateway earth station by the end of the year.
Iridium Satellite Llc and China Spacecom recently signed agreements under which Iridium will provide technical assistance for commercial activation and ongoing maintenance of the gateway. China Spacecom has been an Iridium service provider since December 2005. The gateway, located in Beijing, will support Iridium voice and data services throughout China and could be operational by the end of 2007.
China Spacecom is the only legal operator for satellite communications in China. The company provides a wide range of satellite services and user equipment for voice, data, text and fax throughout China.
"The gateway will make it possible for us to expand our range of Iridium voice and data services in China," said Tong Shirong, president of China Spacecom. "There is a large demand for Iridium short-burst data links in water resources management, hydrological monitoring, weather data collection, fishing vessel tracking, heavy machinery automation, environmental protection and other industries, as well as voice and email communications with ships and aircraft on domestic and international routes."
"The China mobile satellite market is just emerging and will complement the tremendous growth of terrestrial mobile voice and data service," said Matt Desch, chairman and CEO, Iridium Satellite. "This announcement is a great endorsement by a partner for our reliable and high quality network, and we also see the China market as an important opportunity for Iridium NEXT, our next generation constellation being planned for operation in six
to seven years."
Iridium Satellite LLC is a provider of global satellite voice and data solutions with complete coverage of the Earth (including oceans, airways and Polar Regions). Iridium delivers essential communications services to and from remote areas where no other form of communication is available. The Iridium constellation consists of 66 low- earth orbiting (LEO), cross-linked satellites and has multiple in-orbit spares.
