She said ShinSat would decide by the end of the year whether the Thaicom 6 satellite would be used for conventional broadcasting or for broadband like the company's existing iPSTAR.

"We're analysing the market trend. Usually, demand for satellite service grows 10 per cent each year," she added.

She said 60 per cent of the combined capacity of ShinSat's four existing satellites were utilised to provide broadcasting services and the rest for Internet services.

ShinSat operates three broadcasting satellites - Thaicom 1, 2 and 5 - and the broadband satellite iPSTAR. It disconnected its broadcasting Thaicom 3 satellite last year following an irreparable glitch.

The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Ministry granted a 30-year concession to ShinSat in 1993.

ShinSat has paid a concession fee on an incremental basis, starting from 5.5 per cent and going up to 22.5 per cent of total revenues. This year it will share 17.5 per cent of revenues with the ministry.

The company said its minimum concession fee guarantee for the whole concession period stood at Bt1.415 billion.

ShinSat paid a combined

concession fee of Bt3.698 billion up to last year, surpassing the combined minimum guarantee of Bt381 million over the same period.

In 2005, 77 per cent of its total revenues came from foreign markets, totalling US$68 million.

Yesterday, ShinSat invited the press to see its operations, in order to show that its satellites were designed only for commercial use. Members of the Council for National Security voiced concern this week that Singapore could be listening in on its members' confidential calls, since state-linked Temasek Holdings purchased Thai telecom Shin Corp last January.

Shin is the parent of both ShinSat and cellular operator Advanced Info Service. The ICT Ministry is setting up an investigative committee to probe the case.

Nongluck denied the allegations of eavesdropping. "Our satellites are just a medium for sending information or mirrors for reflecting two-way information," she said.

She said two kinds of information were transmitted via the satellites: encrypted information like pay-TV content, in order to prevent interception; and non-encrypted.

"And we have never had a code-breaking tool. We've always observed ethical conduct in doing business. Moreover, our shareholders have never ordered us to do anything unethical," Nongluck said.

She added that cellular operators rarely deployed satellite signals to transmit calls, wanting to avoid the high cost involved.

Before the establishment of ShinSat, Thailand had used a foreign satellite, Indonesia's Palapa.

Usanee Mongkolporn

 The Nation