Telesat Canada has sold its leasehold interests in a satellite to APT Satellite Co. Ltd. of Hong Kong for US$69 million.
APT Satellite Co. Ltd. has been operating Telstar 10, also known asApstar 2. Telstar 10, launched in 1997, provides communications in theC and Ku bands and covers most of Asia and Australia, plus EasternEurope and parts of Africa.
The agreement to transfer Telstar 10,originally announced in May, was made for several reasons, Telesatsaid, including a “complex regulatory environment” and the fact thatthe satellite is scheduled for replacment. Telesat Canada, which lost $822 million in 2008, will use the proceeds to either repay debt or replace satellites.
Telstar 10 was originally launched by Loral Space and CommunicationsInc., which, along with Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, boughtTelesat from BCE Inc. nearly two years ago.
Telesat Canada launched its T11N satellite, which provides Ku Bandservice over most of the Atlantic Ocean, in February. Telesat has sinceinked a contract with Intersat Africa Inc. of Nairobi to providebroadband service to corporate and government customers in southern andwestern Africa. Future planned launches include Nimiq 5, which will beused by Bell Canada to broadcast television signals.
Currently Telesat operates 11 satellites. Its biggest is the Anik F2, was launched five years from French Guiana by Arianespace.