Satellites up for SingTel, Japan

Arianespace has more than half the commercial satellite launch market. Story Tools

(CNN) -- European launcher Arianespace has confirmed the successful launch of two satellites for Singapore Telecommunications and Japan's Broadcasting Satellite System Corp (B-SAT).

The communications satellites were aboard an Ariane 5G rocket which made a successful liftoff at 7.38 am Thursday Tokyo time (2238GMT Wednesday) from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana.

SingTel said Thursday its Australian subsidiary Optus had launched the Aust. $500 million ($330 million) C1 hybrid communications/military satellite, which is jointly funded by Optus and the Australian Department of Defence.

Half the satellite's payload is for military use, and half for television broadcasts, high-speed Internet services and voice and data communications across Australia and part of Asia.

Australian defense minister Robert Hill said the C1 satellite would have two separate payloads operated independently to ensure there was no mix-up of data between its defense and commercial applications.

The C1 satellite will have a lifespan of 15 years and has 24 commercial transponders to provide coverage for Australia, New Zealand and East Asia. It also has eight transponders and six UHF channels for defense communications.

Optus chief operating officer Paul O'Sullivan said Optus would get A$250 million in launch revenue and an extra A$40 million a year from the sale of transponder capacity to Foxtel, the Australian subscription television provider.

Arianespace said its successful launch of BSAT-2c aboard the same Ariane 5G rocket was its fifth for telecom operator B-SAT and its 19th overall for Japanese clients.

The BSAT-2c satellite has four transponders and is designed to provide direct TV broadcasts to Japanese households over a 10-year lifespan. It was built by Orbital Sciences Corp of the United States.

B-SAT is owned 49 percent by Japan's public broadcaster NHK and the remainder by six commercial television networks.

SingTel has interests in Intelsat, Immarsat and Hong Kong-based APT Satellite. It also co-owns the ST-1 satellite launched in 1998 with a footprint that covers most of Asia.

Story Tools		Click Here to try 4 Free Trial Issues of Time!

European stocks cheered by STM • CNN/Money: DaimlerChrysler chief defends merger • CNN/Money: UK watchdog fines Abbey • U.S. list bars Iraq war opponents

EU 'crisis' after summit failure • Iran poll to go to run-off • 40 million credit cards exposed • U.S. House votes to keep U.N. dues