Thaicom proposes to use US satellite as replacement

       Thaicom Plc wants to bid for an in-orbit American satellite to replace Thaicom 2, which will be retired in 2010.
       The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Ministry is studying the request from the country's sole satellite operator, said Nimit Damrongrat,an adviser to the ICT minister.
       He said officials would have to review the company's concession agreement to determine whether it allows the purchase of an existing satellite to replace one that is going to expire.
       However, he said Thaicom's proposal was interesting and might be better than leasing transponders from other foreign satellites to provide services.
       The leasing option poses problems because questions arise about who owns the satellite, since the concession is con-sidered a national asset, he said.
       Mr Nimit said the purchase of an orbiting foreign satellite by bidding would require Thaicom to reposition the foreign satellite to the orbital slot of Thaicom 2 to continue servicing customers.
       But he said that purchasing an orbiting satellite also had limitations, especially if its specifications and materials did not fulfil actual needs.
       Constructing a new replacement sat-ellite remains the best choice, as it meets the original terms of the concession.
       The unnamed owner of the satellite Thaicom wants to buy is reportedly facing financial problems. An industry source added the unit was not functioning well in its current orbital slot because of interference from other satellites.
       Thaicom shares (THCOM) closed unchanged at 8.15 baht yesterday on the SET in trade worth 143 million baht.