Avanti Communications thinks two steps ahead as the satellite broadband firm has now snapped up £73.8m in funds to cook up and launch the HYLAS 3 spacecraft.
The funds are meant to help the operator with the design of the spaceship, its construction as well as the lift off into space.
Some of you might remember that Avanti has launched number 1 of the HYLAS saga back in November which allows the ISP to deliver speeds of up to 10Mbps virtually anywhere in the UK, including rural and remote areas which have no other option to get internet other than satellite broadband services.
HYLAS 2, the launch of which is in the cards for the coming summer, will concentrate on delivering internet services to Africa as well as the Middle East, while satellite number three will be “overlapping geographic coverage”.
The winning tender, the European Space Agency (ESA), will be looking after HYLAS 3 and making sure that it sees its launch on time, albeit the fact that it’s scheduled for 2015, and probably not earlier.
Avanti issued its financial statement as saying:
“Sales momentum for HYLAS 1 and 2 is building strongly, with £8.7m of sales booked in December 2011 and £14.0m in January 2012. This gives the Company confidence that it will fill both satellites within the timescale announced: three years from service launch for HYLAS 1 and the reduced term of four years for HYLAS 2.
“The Company expects HYLAS 3 to launch as it enters the final year of HYLAS 2’s approach to full utilisation, providing the Company with the means to continue to serve the growing demand of its customers.”
According to the reports, HYLAS 3 is not going to be as grand in its design as HYLAS 2 which is set to provide services to a wide geographical location, whereas the former will be somewhat similar in its purpose to the first satellite spacecraft.
