ACeS – satellite telephony services

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ACeS (Asia Cellular Satellite) is a regional satellite telecommunications company based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It offers GSM-like satellite telephony services to Asian market.

The coverage area includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, China and India.

The company operates the Garuda 1 satellite, launched on February 12, 2000. A second satellite (Garuda 2) was planned but never materialized.

ACeS was formed by a joint venture of PT. Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN), Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunication (LMGT), Jasmine International Overseas Ltd of Thailand and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT).

ACeS services are marketed by National Service Providers (NSPs) in six countries; PT. Pasifik Satelit Nusantara in Indonesia, ACeS Regional Services in Thailand, Smart ACeS in the Philippines, TMTouch/Celcom in Malaysia, AVCO in Nepal and Mobitel in Sri Lanka.

The satellite and most network operations are controlled by ACeS Network Control Center in Batam Island, Indonesia. The NSPs operate ground stations which provide links to the terrestrial telephone networks.

At its conception, ACeS network was designed to serve up to 2 million subscribers. It aimed for markets unserved by regular terrestrial cellular networks, such as rural areas, mining industries and marine applications. However, sales grew slowly and after five years of operation ACeS had fewer than 20,000 subscribers.

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