MUMBAI: The Asiasat 5 communications satellite of Asian satellite operator Asiasat began commercial service on 17 September, at the orbital location of 100.5 degrees East with enhanced power, coverage and connectivity, for advanced satellite broadcasting, telecom and broadband services across the Asia Pacific.

Following its launch on 12 August and the successful completion of in-orbit testing to verify the satellite‘s performance and integrity, Asiasat 5 is now operational at 100.5 degrees East, the orbital slot occupied by AsiaSat 2 since 1996.

Traffic transfer from AsiaSat 2 to AsiaSat 5 has commenced and is expected to be completed over the next few weeks.

Asiasat CEO Peter Jackson says, "Asiasat 5 offers an enhanced pan Asian C-band footprint that covers more than 53 countries spanning from Russia to New Zealand and from Japan to the Middle East and parts of Africa. In addition to a powerful Ku-band East Asia beam, the new satellite also offers two new Ku-band beams, the South Asia beam and a steerable beam at the 100.5 degrees East to satisfy market demands."