UNCONVENTIONAL WORLD RECORDS

Intelsat satellite loss cuts links with world for South Pacific nations

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – The “total loss” of an Intelsat satellite left 10 South Pacific nations and territories and part of Antarctica without telephone contact to the outside world, New Zealand communications officials said Tuesday.

[They had no backups whatsoever for this mission critical equipment.]

A further five Pacific states and three Asian territories were also affected but had alternative backups available, Telecom New Zealand Ltd. said in a statement.

In what satellite operator Intelsat Ltd. calls “an extremely rare event,” its Intelsat IS-804 satellite moved out of alignment and was lost at 11:32 a.m. on Saturday (2232 GMT Friday).

["extremely rare event" does not mean something could not ever go wrong. ]

The New Zealand communications company rented capacity on the lost Intelsat unit. The satellite’s loss left the Pacific Island nations of Cook Islands, Western Samoa, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Niue, Vanuatu, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Tonga and the U.S. territory of American Samoa without communications links to other states, Telecom said.

Other countries, including New Caledonia, Tahiti, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, East Timor, Vietnam, Korea and Saipan were also affected but could plug into backup systems.

New Zealand territories of Scott Base in Antarctica and Chatham Islands, 500 kilometers (312 miles) to the east, also lost all phone links.

“The loss of a satellite is an extremely rare event for us, and our first priority must be restoration of service to our customers,” said Intelsat Ltd. Chief Executive Conny Kulman.

Telecom spokeswoman Sarah Berry said communications had since been restored to the Cook Islands, Western Samoa and the Solomon Islands through alternative satellite options.

Most of the islands still without satellite services will have local phone and data services but will be without international calling and data access until alternative arrangements can be made, she noted.

“Bank services, (electronic cash) services … and airline data circuits have also been impacted and this could lead to some flight delays to and from these locations,” Berry said.

“Some services out of New Zealand and Australia may also be partially affected to east Asian locations such as Vietnam and Beijing,” she added.

Kulman said the 106.19 million New Zealand dollar ($US73 million; euro56 million) Bermuda-registered satellite was not insured.

“All necessary effort and assets will be allocated to ensure Intelsat satellite coverage throughout the Asia-Pacific region,” he said. – AP

ref:

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/1/18/latest/20801Intelsats&sec=latest

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