Brazil launches telecommunication satellite

Brazil launched a satellite Wednesday with the largest number of channels in Latin America, which will provide telecommunication services to all of the Western Hemisphere and part of Europe and Africa, local firm Hispamar said Thursday.

The new telecommunication device, which belongs to the Spanish-Brazilian joint venture Hispamar, was launched from the Baikonur base in Kazakstan.

This fifth satellite of Brazil was named after the river of Amazonas. It will end the monopoly of the now privatized firm Embratel, which has satellite Star One.

Hispamar's chief executive officer, Luiz Perrone, said the Star One satellite only covers Brazil and its borders with Bolivia and Paraguay, while the Amazonas satellite covers the entire Western Hemisphere from Canada to Patagonia in Argentina.

Amazonas will be the first satellite with C and KU bands for the Americas, parts of Europe and Africa. Also, it contains 63 transponders, making this apparatus with the largest number of channels in Latin America.

The new satellite will offer commercial and administrative services to the Brazilian government, including the military ministries, although it will not offer national security services like Star One.

With 4.5 tons and a lifespan of 15 years, the Amazonas will be placed next Sunday in its final orbit, over the river of the same name, at a height of 36,000 kilometers over the Earth.

Hispamar's total investment in the Amazonas was 320 million US dollars, of which 210 million dollars were used for the launching and the satellite itself, made in France by the firm EADS Astrim.

Another 40 million dollars were used for the launching permit, engineering and costs during the project; 20 million dollars went to the operation, monitoring and control centers, and 50 million dollars to the insurance contracted with a foreign firm.

Perrone said the Amazonas will be operational later this month and will be completely available in September.