the satellite operator company . for other uses see abs . abs type private majority owned by permira industry satellite communication founded 1997 headquarters hamilton bermuda key people thomas k. choi ceo chairman website 1 abs short for asia broadcast satellite is a bermuda based operator of communication satellites . its services include satellite to home and satellite to cable tv distribution cellular services and internet services . the company established telecommunications networks in africa russia asia and the middle east . the service currently covers 80 % of the population in the americas africa asia pacific europe the middle east russia and commonwealth of independent states . 1 the company aims to expand their satellite fleet by two from six communication satellites to eight satellites in 2015 . 2 as of march 2015 one of the two planned satellites has launched and is currently moving to the target orbit . abs was recognized by the export import bank of the united states for the purchase of two all electric satellites and one satellite utilizing conventional propellant using the bank s loans which created an estimated 3 700 high tech jobs according to the bank . 3 as of september 2015 all but one of the satellites funded is operational . contents 1 history 2 services 3 satellites 3.1 operational satellites 3.2 planned future satellites 4 references 5 external links history edit abs was founded in 1997 4 and acquired its first satellite a lockheed martin 3000 satellite in 2006 from another satellite operator . on november 2009 abs and eutelsat agreed to cooperate at the 75 east orbital position . in the agreement the abs 1 and abs 1a satellites would remain in their orbital position while one eutelsat satellite was maneuvered into a nearby position at the same orbital longitude . the purpose for the agreement was to greatly benefit the customers of both eutelsat and abs who have been seeking expansion capacity in these regions according to a press release from abs . 5 in september 2010 permira a global private equity fund acquired abs for 200 million . 6 abs then found funding from the export import bank of the united states to build three new satellites for their network . by january 2015 abs operated a fleet of six satellites . on march 2 2015 the seventh satellite for abs was launched . called abs 3a it was the first all electric commercial satellite 7 and launched on a falcon 9 alongside eutelsat 115 west b operated by eutelsat . on 15 june 2016 abs launched its second all electric satellite abs 2a and with a eutelsat satellite on falcon 9 flight 26 . 8 services edit broadcast services data services value added services broadcasting gsm backhaul idirect direct to home dth internet connectivity iplc dvb s2 cable distribution scpc data links video contribution vsat networks tdm tdma & dvb s2 acm high definition hdtv maritime telephony & data services satellite news gathering sng satellites edit abs operates a fleet of six satellites . satellites are based off the lockheed martin space systems loral and recently boeing space systems satellite bus . according to ceo tom choi in an interview with via satellite abs chose electric satellites to save mass which allows for satellite dual launches because of the all electric thrusters we are able to save more than 2 000 kg of bi prop which allows us to put more payload on the spacecraft as well as the advantage of launching two satellites on a falcon 9 . additionally he claimed that working with boeing for a low mass satellite platform would allow them to catch up to their competitors . 9 one satellite abs 3a is currently in transit to the targeted geostationary orbit . it is notable for being the first commercial satellite to use fully electrically powered spacecraft propulsion for orbit raising and station keeping . abs 2a the second all electric satellite in abs s fleet is planned for launch in late 2015 . 10 the company has focused on the 75 east orbital position which allows for good coverage over the majority of the world s population . abs 1 abs s first satellite was positioned in that orbital slot . recently the company has expanded into nearby regions such as 67 east while moving away from the 75 east orbital position . 11 operational satellites edit satellite bus cospar id location regions served launch comments abs 2 loral fs 1300 2014 006 a e075 75 e global band 2014 2 6 originally named st 3 koreasat 8 condosat 2 abs 3 loral fs 1300 1997 042 a w003 3 w sub saharan africa 1997 8 19 originally named agila 2 mabuhay 1 abs 5 abs 4 loral fs 1300 2004 007 a e061 61 e gcc and northern africa 2004 3 13 originally named abs 2i mobisat 1 mbsat 1 abs 6 lm a2100 1999 053a e159 159 e pacific ocean and eastern asia 1999 9 26 originally named lmi 1 condosat 1 . replaced abs 1 abs 7 lm a2100 1997 042a e116 116.1 e pakistan afghanistan north india 1999 9 26 originally named koreasat 3 mugungwa 3 abs 3a boeing 702sp 2015 010a w003 3 w global 2015 3 2 first all electric satellite . launched reached target orbit and began operations in september 2015 . 12 planned future satellites edit abs has one future satellite abs 2a scheduled for launch which is based on the boeing 702sp satellite platform the same platform as abs 3a . 13 the satellite is funded by a us ex im bank loan to expand high tech us jobs ; the loan also funded the operational abs 3a satellite . abs 2a is scheduled for launch in june 2016 . satellite location regions served launch comments abs 2a e075 75 e india southeast asia russia sub saharan africa gcc 15 june 2016 second all electric satellite . abs 8 e116 116.1 e 2017 2018 third all electric satellite . 14 15 references edit revolutionary abs 3a launched . asia broadcast satellite . 1 march 2015 . retrieved 4 march 2015 . asia broadcast satellite corporate overview . ab satellite . asia broadcast satellite . retrieved 28 february 2015 . formella linda 24 april 2014 . asia broadcast satellite wins ex im bank 2014 deal of the year . export import bank of the united states . retrieved 5 march 2015 . company overview of asia broadcast satellite limited . bloomberg business . bloomberg . retrieved 28 february 2015 . eutelsat and abs strike strategic agreement for cooperation at 75 east position . asia broadcast satellite . 16 november 2009 . retrieved 5 march 2015 . permira buys satellite operator abs for 200mln sources . reuters . reuters . clark stephen 2 march 2015 . plasma driven satellite launched from cape canaveral . spaceflight now . retrieved 4 march 2015 . mission events timeline for falcon 9 s launch for abs and eutelsat spaceflight now retrieved 15 june 2016 . choi tom 1 october 2015 . tom choi ceo asia broadcast satellite . retrieved 5 march 2015 . reporter staff 31 july 2013 . abs confirms plan to build abs 2a satellite . satellite pro . retrieved 4 march 2015 . asia broadcast satellite hopes to validate business model in a year . spacenews . 29 june 2004 . retrieved 5 march 2015 . b. de selding peter 10 september 2015 . abs all electric satellite arrives early at operating orbit . spacenews . retrieved 10 september 2015 . clark stephen 12 march 2014 . boeing reveals government s all electric satellite purchase . spaceflight now . retrieved 4 march 2015 . b. de selding peter 31 may 2015 . peter b. de selding . spacenews . twitter . retrieved 1 june 2015 . b. de selding peter 1 june 2015 . abs teaming with boeing spacex for another electric satellite . spacenews . retrieved 1 june 2015 . external links edit abs abs 1a channels abs 1b channels abs 2 channels abs 3 channels abs 4 channels abs 6 channels abs 7 channels retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title abs satellite operator & oldid 728492520 categories communications satellite operatorsaerospace companies of bermuda navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main 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