The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Kacific Broadband Satellites International Ltd. has launched the Kacific1 satellite to bring affordable internet to remote parts of Asia and the Pacific, including some communities in the Philippines.
In a statement posted by the ADB on its website yesterday, it said Kacific1, launched by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, will orbit in the same location above Asia and the Pacific region during its estimated 15-year service life.
The satellite will be able to deliver the most powerful signal ever achieved by a commercial satellite in the region, providing affordable broadband access to people in remote regions, many of whom have never had internet connectivity before, the ADB said.
“Remote and rural communities are typically beyond the reach of traditional fiber optics as terrestrial distribution and infrastructure takes time to build and is expensive,” the ADB said.
“Kacific1 will cover these communities in Pacific island nations and in archipelagic countries like Indonesia and the Philippines. The satellite will also have beams over South Asia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea,” the agency added.
The ADB has provided $50 million in financing to Kacific for the satellite to deliver internet that will enable better education and health services, improve access to information, and drive more trade and connectivity between countries.
“Satellite internet services, like those that will be provided by Kacific1, are very effective in reaching the last mile of internet access, connecting remote areas that would otherwise remain isolated and lacking crucial services that can improve livelihoods and incomes,” said Jackie Surtani, infrastructure finance division director for Southeast Asia, East Asia, and the Pacific at ADB’s private sector operations department.
