NewSat ensures $611M funding for Jabiru-1 satellite launch
NewSat, the biggest independent satellite communications provider in Australia, made a recent announcement that the company has finally secured almost $108 million to meet the remaining requirements of the equity and mezzanine funding for its launch of the Jabiru-1 satellite by middle of 2015. Overall, NewSat has ensured a total of $628.2 million for its new satellite. The Jabiru-1 satellite, which is known to be Australia’s first ever commercial Ka-band satellite, will be a hybrid Ku- and Ka-band satellite. The satellite is expected to provide coverage across Southeast Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. Lockheed Martin has already commenced the construction for Jabiru and an initial design review has been accomplished. The next stage of the project will be the critical design review. NewSat has closed various deals, with companies ranging from satellite operators to Pakistani telecommunications companies to the U.S military for capacity on the satellite over the past 15 years. Reports said that the total value of the deals to date is $454 million, and that NewSat is still selling additional capacity on the Jabiru-1 satellite. Adrian Ballantine, the Australian satellite company’s founder and CEO said that finalizing the funds was an “enormous achievement.” "Closing the US$611 million funding for the Jabiru-1 satellite is an enormous achievement for our company. It signals the evolution of NewSat into a global satellite operator from a teleport services provider, and is the culmination of hard work and a profitable base business," Ballantine said in a statement.









