DUSHANBE (MoDA press service) — Kazakhstan plans to provide telecommunications services to end consumers in several Central Asian countries through the new KazSat-2R satellite, says the press service of the Ministry of Defence and Aerospace (MoDA) of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

KazSat-2

KazSat-2 is the second Kazakh space satellite after KazSat-1. It was launched on 16 July 2011 by Proton rocket. This satellite was constructed by Krunichev Center for the Spacecraft and Thales Alenia Space for the Payload. Thales Alenia Space is also the provider of KazSat-1 and KazSat-3 payloads.

The department stated in its press release that:

The resources of the KazSat-2R satellite will be used for the allocation of fixed satellite communication channels as part of the implementation of the national Digital Kazakhstan programme. These are the provision of omni-directional broadband Internet access, also covering isolated rural areas of the country, as well as the subsequent provision of telecommunications services to end-users (government agencies, law enforcement agencies, businesses and private sectors) in neighbouring states such as Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

According to the agency, Kazakhstan is currently preparing KazSat-2R only for the planned replacement of the KazSat-2 satellite, which has been in orbit since 2011, with its active life in its geostationary orbit ending in November 2023. “Currently, the national satellites KazSat-2 and KazSat-3 are successfully operating, with resources used by 15 operators and more than 11,000 satellite earth stations throughout Kazakhstan”, the ministry said.