Rocket-launching companies and satellite operators are getting a boost from Asia's rapidly expanding telecommunications market.
Richard Bowles, director of Southeast Asia for Arianespace of France, said Asia would need a significant amount of commercial satellite capacity in the next few years, and local companies had already started to develop satellites to meet demand.
'Asia is coming forward with some very innovative satellites,' he said.
Arianespace, which has signed more than 200 launch contracts with a 97 per cent launch rate since its inception in 1980, is developing a successor to its Ariane 4 rocket, which carries a payload of five tonnes.
'For the satellite market, even five tonnes is not sufficient for Ariane to be competitive,' Mr Bowles said. 'We are working on carrying more than 10 tonnes by the end of the year on the Arienne 5.'
Michael Storey, president and chief executive officer at Britain-based satellite distributor Inmarsat, said vast areas of Asia were inaccessible using conventional cable networks.
