OREANDA-NEWS. November 16, 2015. Thales Alenia Space announced today that it has signed a contract with BTRC, (Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission) to build the telecommunications satellite, Bangabandhu, winning the contract against an international field of competitors. This satellite will narrow the digital divide, as it will take broadcasting and telecommunication services to rural areas and introduce profitable services, including direct-to-home services, across the country and over the region.

As program prime contractor of this turnkey system, Thales Alenia Space is in charge of the design, production, testing and the delivery in orbit of the satellite.

This satellite is based on the flight proven heritage of Thales Alenia Space with 81 Spacebus already ordered and more than 600 cumulated years in orbit. Built on the upgraded Spacebus 4000B2 platform, Bangabandhu will be fitted with 26 Ku-Band and 14 C-Band transponders. The satellite’s coverage zone encompasses the Bangladesh and the surrounding region. This system will offer capacity in Ku-Band over Bangladesh and its territorial waters of the Bay of Bengal, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Philippines and Indonesia; it will also provide capacity in C-Band over the whole region.

Thales Alenia Space will also take charge of  the ground segment, which will benefit of the SpaceOps Thales Alenia Space tools for the mission planning and monitoring. It includes two ground facility buildings gathering Satellite Control and Network Operations Center based on the SpaceGate Thales Alenia Space global solution. Spectra Engineers Ltd., Thales partner in Bangladesh, is in charge of the civil work of the ground facilities.

To be launched in 2017, this Bangladesh's first satellite will be positioned at 119.1° East longitude.

“Thales Alenia Space is proud to have been selected by the BTRC for the first iconic Bangladeshi Telecom satellite. This satellite identified with the famous Nation's father name, Bangabandhu, is a key milestones for the Bangladesh country telecommunication development and a fantastic support to the national economy growth and Asian region recognition. Thales Alenia Space is honored to be associated to this great expansion plan”, said Jean Lo?c Galle, CEO of Thales Alenia Space.

"The contract for this telecommunications satellite signed with Thales Alenia Space, the key European player in space telecommunication, marks a major turning point in the history of Bangladesh, not only reducing the digital divide, but also generating business development and creating jobs," said Md Golam Razzaque, Bangabandhu Project Director of BTRC. "We hope to carry out the launch on the 46th anniversary of our country's Victory Day, which will be on December 16th , 2017 ”.

About Thales Alenia Space

Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Finmeccanica (33%), is a key European player in space telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, exploration and orbital infrastructures. Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio form the two parent companies' “Space Alliance”, which offers a complete range of services and solutions. Because of its unrivaled expertise in dual (civil/military) missions, constellations, flexible payloads, altimetry, meteorology and high-resolution optical and radar instruments, Thales Alenia Space is the natural partner to countries that want to expand their space program. The company posted consolidated revenues in excess of 2 billion euros in 2014, and has 7,500 employees in eight countries. www.thalesaleniaspace.com