Mobile Satellite Ventures LP and joint venture partner Mobile Satellite Ventures (Canada) have announced that MSV has contracted with ILS International Launch Services for the launch in 2009 of one of two high-powered, next-generation satellites, designed to provide seamless, transparent and ubiquitous broadband wireless coverage of North and Central America to consumer electronic devices.
"This launch will usher in a new era in integrated satellite-terrestrial communications where consumers throughout North
America can enjoy broadband services at lower costs per bit with the flexibility to support a range of custom IP applications," said Alexander H. Good, MSV Vice Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President.
"We have teamed with a world-class provider who combined a fair price and program flexibility, allowing us to deliver ahead of
our regulatory milestones."
The ILS agreement is for a single firm launch and includes an option for a second launch.
"Mobile Satellite Ventures is introducing exciting new mobile services in the Americas," said ILS President Frank McKenna.
"ILS is proud to have been selected by MSV to initiate its business expansion by providing Proton launch services. MSV is a new and important customer for us, and we hope to build this relationship into a long-term partnership based on our record of outstanding performance and customer focus."
ILS plans to launch the MSV spacecraft on a Proton/Breeze M vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Proton/Breeze
M vehicle is manufactured by ILS' Russian partner, Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center.
MSV's satellites, under construction by The Boeing Company, will operate in geostationary orbit over North America from 101 degrees and 107.3 degrees west. The satellites feature 22-meter diameter, elliptical mesh reflectors that will support L-band communication with conventional handsets through a network based on MSV's patented ancillary terrestrial component technology.
