ISLAMABAD, March 8: Information Technology and Telecommunications Minister Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari on Saturday said the country had achieved frequency coordination for the Paksat-1 communication satellite.

Terming the event a breakthrough, the minister while briefing newsmen at his office, said now all the 34 transponders could be used optimally and the expectation of generating revenues was possible by aggressively marketing its potential.

The satellite could only be utilized after removing frequency constraint by making it coordinated with neighbouring satellites, he said.

We could now put together a more viable business plan for the follow-up satellite, especially when we have three to five years to work on it, Mr Leghari said.

He said the opportunity gave the government more space in getting partners and the ability to acquire funding for building and launching the country’s own satellite, besides developing necessary capabilities.

He said the breakthrough came after President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s visit to Russia, after which the Russian ambassador was involved in a dialogue, though a team was involved in meeting international operators over the last few months.

The Paksat-1 was positioned in the slot allocated for Pakistan at 38 degrees east, in a geosynchronous orbit, 36,000km above the earth.

The government hopes to use the satellite for educational intranet, virtual university, telemedicine, internet bandwidth, video conferencing and private channels. It will also cover Africa, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia and India.

The satellite has been leased for 5 years at an initial cost of $4.5 million, while $30 million has to be paid in 5 years.

The government is planning for a follow-on satellite to fully exploit the slot that might cost $250 million and for which PC-1 has been forwarded to Executive Committee of National Economic Council.

The minister said that the satellite had 34 transponders and a capacity of 1.3 gigahertz. Through this capacity, 220 satellite television channels could be run simultaneously and it is three times the total Internet bandwidth coming into the country.

The minister said that though country had the satellite and it could file with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the ability to use its potential was dependent on the ability to coordinate with operators of nearby satellites or those who had priority.

He said the location of the satellite was very valuable since it could cover the region from the tip of South Africa to the Far East.

The minister said he would hold meetings with different ministries to take benefit of e-governance and satellite. Health and education ministries, the higher education commission and Virtual University could take advantage of the satellite, he said.

He said the private sector, especially the private TV channels, would be encouraged to utilize the satellite through commercial packages.

Mr Leghari said the neighbouring countries would be encouraged to benefit from the satellite provided the national interest was not hurt.

About the telecommunications deregulation policy, he said his ministry had completed its recommendations and the summary would be submitted before the cabinet in two or three days.

“We are answerable to the people,” he said and added that the government had studied every aspect of the policy prepared by its predecessors and prepared its own recommendations.