SES Americom has announced that the AMERICOM-23 (AMC-23) satellite that was launched on December 29, 2005, has successfully completed a full battery of in-orbit-tests and is now operational from its assigned location of 172 degrees East.
As of today, the large, high-powered, C/Ku-band satellite, is providing services to customers including Connexion by Boeing, a provider of in-flight high-speed Internet service, on the Ku-band payload as well as various commercial and government customers on the C-band side.
Dany Harel, SES AMERICOM's Vice President of Space Systems and Operations, said, "The IOT has been remarkably smooth and we have every confidence that for the next 15 years AMC-23 will support a multitude of customer applications … from high-speed broadband access to the internet for airline passengers flying over the Pacific … to television delivery between the U.S. and East Asia."
He continued, "AMC-23 bears the distinctive attributes of an AMERICOM-specified spacecraft with high levels of redundancy in critical bus and payload subsystems; Alcatel delivered a great next generation satellite."
Jeff Flagel, Director of Supply Chain & Production, Connexion by Boeing, said, "AMC-23 will enable Connexion by Boeing to offer our service in aviation and maritime markets over the vast Pacific Ocean, as well as select land masses in the Pacific Rim. That coverage has been and remains a key part of our strategy in expanding our global network."
"The distinctive coverage and power of AMC-23 positions AMERICOM to 1) expand our ability to serve various branches of U.S. Armed Forces in the Pacific region through AMERICOM Government Services; 2) address business network demands for data, voice and video services within the Alaska to Australia footprint; 3) offer regional broadcasters a singular path between the Pacific Rim and the Americas; and 4) through Connexion by Boeing, support direct to aircraft and maritime services," said Andreas Georghiou, SES AMERICOM Chief Commercial Officer.
AMC-23
