adelaide now

NewSat wins two new contracts
VALERINA CHANGARATHIL
August 12, 2009 11:30am
SATELLITE communications provider NewSat will soon start servicing two new contracts worth more than $4 million from its Adelaide base.

The company, which has seen business grow 400 per cent over last year, has signed a more than $2 million, 53-month contract to provide communications to a LNG project from its Adelaide Earth Station.

It has also signed a letter of intent with a U.S. partner for a $2 million, 36-month contract to supply communications services to the US Military in the Middle East.

``This is a further extension of satellite communication services that the company started providing in the region in November 2008,'' the company said.

Both services are scheduled to start within a matter of weeks in August.

The company provides a full range of managed communication services and carrier monitoring from its teleports in Perth and Adelaide to Australia/Oceania, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
It did not disclose the names of the customers due to confidentiality reasons.

In July, the company informed shareholders ``growth over the past 12 months has been the strongest of any period'' in its history with a maiden profit forecast for this financial year.

In the year of international economic meltdown, NewSat grew new business in excess of 400 per cent on the previous year, chairman John Walker said.

``Last year, the company successfully grew its annuity revenue stream, minimised contract churn and effectively contained all business costs. As a result NewSat is in a position to generate month on month growth in 09/10 and will deliver its maiden profit,'' Mr Walker said.

NewSat's client base is essentially ``blue-chip'', and very much geared towards the oil, gas and mining and military sectors.

In March this year, NewSat raised $1 million from key investors to upgrade its sites in Adelaide and Perth. The Adelaide upgrade included setting up an air-conditioning plant and other security measures at its teleport in Mawson Lakes.

The Adelaide teleport holds a number of satellite dishes to receive and send signals to transmit data.

Using the latest generation satellite and VSAT technology, NewSat offers high-speed, two-way satellite broadband communication services to the military, governments, broadcasters, cable programmers, news agencies, telecommunications carriers, internet service providers and distance learning networks.