Arianespace will launch its sixth satellite for Optus by 2013 aboard an Ariane 5 rocket. The rocket will launch from Guiana Space Center, Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, Paul O'Sullivan, Optus Chief Executive, and Jean-Yves Le Gall, Chairman and CEO of Arianespace, announced in Sydney, Australia.

The satellite will be solar powered and will operate for 15 years. It will carry ion thrusters to keep its orbit finely adjusted. Optus 10 will be the sixth satellite Arianespace has launched for Optus. It is now being built by Space Systems/Loral in Palo Alto, California.

The Optus 10 satellite will provide communications services, direct TV broadcast, internet connectivity across Australia and New Zealand. It will also supply two-way voice and data services across the region.

Satellites are important to Australia because it's a cost effective method that can reach all over the continent.

"This is because the cost of a satellite link is independent of how far apart the two parties are - a very important consideration for Australia with its relatively low population and uneven population distribution," said Gordon Pike, a Sydney-based aerospace consultant

"This is not true for the alternative (but with higher capacity) technologies of fibre optic cable and radio."

Four more Australian satellites are scheduled to launch over the next few years. Then National Broadband Network is considering launching two high-speed broadband satellites which are scheduled to go into orbit in 2015. A local satcoms company is also looking to launch at least one or two communications satellites called Jabiru within the next few years.

The NBN satellites will cost up to $600 million for the two satellites aside from the $300 M worth of contracts for broadband delivery services provided by Optus and IPSTAR. The new satellite system is expected to serve 3 percent of the population in remote areas. Eventually satellites will provide 12Mbps for a national price of $24 a month.