THAICOM 4 or IPSTAR, the communications satellite owned by Shin Corporation, was launched successfully Thursday from Europe's Spaceport Arianespace agency in French Guiana.

Shin Corporation President Boonklee Plangsiri was quoted by the Thai News Agency as saying Friday that his firm's 400 million US dollars investment in the IPSTAR could be recouped within four years.

The key markets for IPSTAR clientele are China, India, Australia and New Zealand. Thailand accounts for only 10 percent of the market share.

As the satellite is designed to remain operational for 12 years, Shin Corporation projects an annual revenue of 10 billion baht ( 250 Million US dollars), which will enable it to break even within three to four years, said Boonklee.

According to Arianspace, THAICOM 4 (IPSTAR) will provide Internet access and broadband services to businesses and consumers using 84 spot beams, three shaped beams and seven regional broadcast beams covering 14 countries in the Asian Pacific region.

IPSTAR operates under a Build-Transfer-Operate license from the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, the agency said.

Source: Xinhua