Brasilsat
The Brazilian Telecommunications Company (Empresa Brasileira de Telecomunicacões--Embratel), a state-controlled agency in charge of the Brazilian Satellite Communication System (Sistema Brasileiro de Comunicação por Satélites - SBTS), owns and operates a series of satellites that are positioned in geostationary orbit over the equator. Arianespace, a French space and defense partner of France's Aérospatiale group, launched the first two Brasilsat satellites in February 1985 and March 1986.
This network now consists of Brazilsat A-2, B-1, B-2, and B-3. All of these spacecraft were built by Hughes, based on the HS-376 bus design, and have been launched by Arianespace. Brazil's telecommunications market will be fully opened to international competition in no more than three years. Organizations such as Americatel (backed by Telefonica Spain and Entel Chile) as well as many of the major international telecommunications carriers will enter the Brazilian market, and perhaps introduce additional satellite competition either through existing capacity, such as that represented by INTELSAT, Solidaridad or Moreles, PanAmSat, or new systems.
According to the legislation approved by the Brazilian Congress in mid-1996. EMBRATEL will no longer have the monopoly for satellite communications in Brazil.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
