Perth teleport opens for special guests

NewSat's world-class Perth teleport was once again the site of a satellite tour for special guests. The ground station facility opened its doors to the Chairman of the Ex-IM Bank, Mr. Fred Hochberg, and to the American Chamber of Commerce, this past month.

Chairman Fred Hochberg (third from left); on his right is NewSat CEO Adrian Ballintine

The visit of Mr. Hochberg was important as it solidified the partnership between the US-based export credit agency in Australia's leading independent satellite communications company. Just last July 20, NewSat secured a direct loan amounting to $280 million from the Ex-IM bank for the support of its Jabiru-1, a high-powered ka band satellite currently under construction in partnership with Lockheed Martin, and slated for a 2014 launch. This is the first satellite transaction by the credit agency with Lockheed Martin, and also the first for Australia. The 2014 launch, on the other hand, will be in partnership with Arianespace.

The Jabiru-1 is now six months into counstruction.

Last June 18, NewSat announced that the project has successfully completed its Preliminary Design Review (PDR) which demonstrates the satellite meets all the critical requirements for it to deliver Ka-band capacity to both government and enterprise customers. 

NewSat's Founder and CEO, Adrian Ballintine, welcomed Chairman Hochberg and accompanied him in a tour of the teleport facility in Perth. Recently, the Australian company announced that revenues from its teleport business has increased thanks to growing demand in the military sector, the security of new contracts in Papua New Guinea, as well partnerships with developments in the resource industry. 

Guests from the AMCHAM in a presenation of NewSat's history

Twenty-five guests from the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) also visited the Perth teleport. The visitors were given a tour of the world-class facility's antenna systems and network operations centre. Len McGoldrick, the Vice President of Engineering and Operations, also discussed with the guests NewSat's history in the satellite industry. 

The Perth teleport is one of two world-class facilities operated by NewSat. Adelaide Teleport, in Southern Australia, also provides global coverage and uplinking to satellites in the C-band and Ku-band spectrum.