Spacecom (Tel Aviv Stock Exchange: SCC), the AMOS satellite fleet operator, has announced the AMOS-5i satellite has reached its 17 degrees East orbital position and has started commercial service. With clients from Africa, Europe and the Middle East already on board, the AMOS-5i satellite enables Spacecom to start serving the growing African market with C- and Ku-band capacity.

AMOS-5i is an interim satellite that will be seamlessly succeeded in its orbital position by AMOS-5, once it commences operations, scheduled for mid-2011. The AMOS-5i satellite’s 20 36MHz and 4 72MHz C-band transponders, plus 9 54MHz Ku-band transponders, make it a powerful platform offering a pan-African C-band beam connecting Europe and the Middle East alongside two Ku-band regional beams. The AMOS-5 satellite will further expand Spacecom’s footprint in Africa, thanks to its 14 72MHz and 4 36MHz C-band transponders and 18 72MHz Ku-band transponders. (The AMOS-5i satellite was formerly AsiaSat's AsiatSat-2 satellite.)