Business news

MINSK, 22 March (BelTA-Xinhua) – The Belarusian-Chinese project Belintersat already has a portfolio of orders, BelTA has learned. In an interview with the Chinese news agency Xinhua the Belintersat project supervisor Andrei Abramov noted that future cooperation with Chinese companies depends a lot on the commercial success of the first Belarusian telecommunication satellite Belintersat-1, which had been created by a Chinese company and launched using a Chinese cosmodrome.

The first Belarusian telecommunication satellite has been made by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. It was inserted into orbit using the Chinese space launch facility Xichang on 15 January 2016.

Andrei Abramov said: “The Belintersat project is unique for Belarus. It helps us develop sophisticated technologies. Belarusian specialists take care of operation of the geostationary telecommunication satellite. Our project offers satellite communication services, which are in demand in Belarus and abroad. The choice includes television and radio broadcasting, voice and video traffic broadcasting, the construction of data networks with various parameters.”

In his words, work is in progress to secure the best possible commercial effect from the project. “Our project works with countries, which are covered by the satellite. Those are located in Europe, Africa, and Asia. We have a portfolio of orders. Potential customers are testing the service. Contract terms and commercial operation terms are being discussed,” said Andrei Abramov.

Speaking about communication services, the Belintersat-1 project supervisor noted that they offer services to rescue workers and the border service. For a regular Belarusian it means better safety of his or her life, the life of their families and loved ones. According to Andrei Abramov, the main efforts of the Belintersat-1 projects are channeled into providing services on foreign markets. Television broadcasting and data transfer services are the most popular ones. “We are getting very good feedback from our customers. The opinions are positive overall,” he stressed.

Andrei Abramov said he was pleased with cooperation with Chinese companies. “They have state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities. I feel respect for their industrial standards and the way their business processes are organized,” said the Belintersat-1 project supervisor.

Andrei Abramov said that as part of the Belintersat-1 project they enjoy technical cooperation with one of China’s top satellite operators. The best practices of controlling a satellite are being shared. Work is in progress to compile a database of scientific and technical documents, to determine common standards and procedures for operating the satellite and for personnel training.

In his words, there are concrete plans for cooperation with the Chinese side with a view to developing Belarus’ national satellite communication system. “The implementation of our common plans of future cooperation with Chinese companies depends a lot on the commercial success of Belarus’ first telecommunication satellite Belintersat-1,” said Andrei Abramov.

“It is also worth noting that we are interested in advancing relations with Chinese partners as part of the efforts to create the telecommunication infrastructure for the new Silk Road project,” concluded Andrei Abramov.