In March 2003, Binariang Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd. of Malaysia ordered a high-power commercial communications satellite from Boeing Satellite Systems. The new Boeing 601HP satellite, designated MEASAT-3, will join the existing Boeing-built MEASAT-1 and MEASAT-2 spacecraft in the Malaysia-East Asia Satellite (MEASAT) system.

MEASAT-3 will be co-located with MEASAT-1 at 91.5 degrees East longitude and will provide expansion and back-up capacity for Binariang to meet the increasing market demand for satellite services within the region. Boeing will also provide an upgrade to the MEASAT ground facilities on Pulau Langkawi, Malaysia, as well as training and launch support services.

Scheduled for launch in 2005, MEASAT-3 will employ 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders, each providing 36 MHz of bandwidth over a 15-year minimum service life. MEASAT-3 s C-band payload will cover Africa, Middle East, Asia and Australia. The Ku-band payload has been designed to provide high-powered flexible service options for the development of data services and Direct-to-Home applications in Malaysia, Indonesia, India and China.

The body-stabilized Boeing 601 satellite is the best-selling large spacecraft model in the world. Eighty-one orders for the spacecraft had been received by September 2003.

The Boeing 601 was introduced in 1987 to meet anticipated requirements for high-power, multiple-payload satellites for such applications as direct television broadcasting to small receiving antennas, very small aperture terminals for private business networks, and mobile communications. The basic configuration features as many as 48 transponders and offers up to 4,800 watts.

A more powerful version, the Boeing 601HP, made its debut in 1995. The HP versions can carry payloads twice as powerful as the classic Boeing 601 models, through such innovations as gallium arsenide solar cells and advanced battery technology. The 601HP features as many as 60 transponders and provides up to 11,000 watts.

All Boeing 601 spacecraft use the same basic bus design, enabling Boeing Satellite Systems to realize efficiencies gained by production volume, tooling investments and quantity buys.

Binariang Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd. is the only licensed commercial satellite operator in Malaysia. Binariang pioneered the development of high-powered Ku-band Direct-to-Home services into South East Asia with the launch of MEASAT-1 and MEASAT-2 in 1996, providing Cband and Ku-band connectivity spanning India, Asia, Australia and the U.S. via Hawaii. For more information, please visit www.measat.com

Boeing Satellite Systems is the world's leading manufacturer of commercial communications satellites and a major provider of space systems, satellites, and payloads for national defense, science and environmental applications.

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