Telkom to replace troubled satellite in August 2018

State-owned telecommunications company PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom Indonesia) plans to launch its Telkom 4 satellite in a year’s time to replace the troubled Telkom 1.

“We have signed a contract to launch the Telkom 4 satellite. It will be launched from the United States in August 2018,” said PT Telkom president director Alex J. Sinaga during a press conference with Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Telkom 4 is manufactured by Space Systems Loral (SSL) and will be launched by SpaceX. It will have transponders for the domestic market and some to be marketed in India.

Read also: Telkom to deorbit troubled satellite

Alex said the name of the satellite was still tentative, as his company was still considering possible names. The satellite, which will be placed in orbit slot 108 BT, the current location of Telkom 1, will have a 15-year lifespan, similar to Telkom 1.

“Telkom will closely monitor the progress on Telkom 4 to make sure that the satellite will be launched as scheduled,” Alex said as reported by kompas.com.

Telkom 1 services went offline on Friday at 4:51 p.m. Jakarta time. The services of a number banks, such as Bank Central Asia (BCA) and Bank Mandiri, have been affected as they use Telkom 1 VSAT connection for their ATM and EDC machines.

Telkom began the migration on Saturday and expects to finish the process by Sept. 10. Telkom will also rent foreign-owned satellites to cover the services, because Telkom 2 and Telkom 3S can only cover 77 percent of Telkom 1's services. (bbn)