Shin Satellite Plc is upbeat about the prospects for its broadband satellite business this year due to substantial demand and forays into new markets.

Vice president for finance Tanadit Charoenchan said yesterday that ShinSat had received the Indian government's permission to set up its iPSTAR broadband satellite gateways in Delhi and Bombay to provide broadband services to India's vast market.

The installation is expected to be finished within the current quarter and the company will realise revenue from the venture in the second half of this year, he added.

ShinSat has already set up iPSTAR gateways in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou and is currently establishing service and sales-distribution channels.

"We'll realise revenue from China in the second half of this year," Tanadit said.

ShinSat is also upbeat about the Australian market, where he said the demand for iPSTAR terminals had risen from around 1,000 units monthly last year to between 2,000 and 4,000 units per month at present. Its iPSTAR broadband service in Australia costs 29.95 Australian dollars (Bt860) per month.

Tanadit said the company also expected to conclude ongoing talks with potential customers in Japan and South Korea within this quarter. The iPSTAR broadband satellite's footprint covers a vast market in the Asia Pacific region.

Tanadit added that ShinSat's mobile-phone businesses in Laos and Cambodia - Lao Telecommunications Co, and Cambodia Shinawatra - have each already secured licences to provide 3G broadband cellular service, which is expected to be up and running soon.

However, the company has no investment plans this year and has yet to seriously consider the plan to launch Thaicom 6, a conventional broadcasting satellite.

ShinSat currently has three broadcasting satellites in orbit, Thaicom 1, 2, 5. Thaicom 5 was launched last May to replace the glitch-ridden Thaicom 3 satellite.

Thailand's largest telecom holdings firm, Shin Corp Plc, holds the major stake of 41.3 per cent of ShinSat.

Tanadit declined to comment when asked whether the company was prepared to deal with any outcome of the examination of all private telecom-concession contracts, including that of ShinSat, by the Council of State.

The Information and Communications Technology Ministry submitted all private telecom concessions for the Council of State to examine whether past amendments complied with relevant laws. The ministry cited the need to promote fair treatment of all private concessions.

Shin Corp was founded by the family of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

ShinSat posted consolidated net profit of Bt135 million in the first quarter, a turnaround from a net loss of Bt58.2 million over the same period last year.

Its consolidated revenue of sales of products and services in the first quarter dropped to Bt1.62 billion, from Bt1.76 billion in the same period last year, due partly to the baht's appreciation during the quarter, which caused dollar-denominated revenues to shrink in baht terms.

But it made Bt461.4 million in foreign-exchange gains, up from Bt185.6 million last year, due mostly to the decreasing baht value of foreign-currency loans in the first quarter.

The company sold 9,131 iPSTAR user terminals in the first quarter, down 18 per cent on yearly basis. As of the first quarter, it had sold a total of 75,187 terminals.

ShinSat shares closed at Bt7.35 yesterday, up from Bt7.25.

Sirivish Toomgum

The Nation