NONTHABURI - Thaicom Plc announced on Wednesday that it had reached a framework agreement with China Telecom Satellite (CTS) and Synertone Communication Corporation (Synertone) to proceed with the sale of iPSTAR bandwidth in China.
The framework agreement outlines the structure of the deal and the main elements of the definitive agreement and other related agreements, with details to be finalised in the coming months.
Under the agreement, Thaicom, with cooperation from CTS, its official partner in China, will sell all iPSTAR capacity available for China to Synertone, and will also be entitled to revenue sharing from bandwidth sales of Synertone in China. In addition, Thaicom will also take an equity stake in Synertone to strengthen the business partnership in the Chinese market.The deal will open up opportunities for iPSTAR bandwidth to be used for a variety of services at both the private and government sector levels, including for mobile backhaul, educational projects and other projects.
iPSTAR capacity availability over the Chinese market is approximately 24% of iPSTAR's total capacity.
"China is an important market for Thaicom, and I am pleased that Thaicom and our partners have achieved this key milestone of iPSTAR business in China together," Suphajee Suthumpun, chief executive officer of Thaicom said on Wednesday.
She said the framework agreement outlines all the main elements of the final agreements, "the details of which we are working on now". The sale of IPSTAR bandwidth in China will provide a wide range of benefits for all parties to the deal.
"Obviously for Thaicom it means that we have reached one of our most important goals. With capacity utilisation in China, we have gone far beyond the break-even point of iPSTAR.
"For our partner in China, the deal will provide a valuable asset to expand communications infrastructure throughout the country, and the ability to rapidly provide services to un-served and underserved areas using iPSTAR services and solutions," Mrs Suphajee said.