Malaysia’s newest satellite, MEASAT-3d, has entered commercial service, one month after being launched into orbit from French Guiana.

MEASAT said the satellite, the most advanced in its fleet, had successfully completed in-orbit testing ahead of schedule and had entered commercial service after its handover by Airbus Defence and Space.

MEASAT-3d is a multi-mission satellite with a planned lifespan of more than 18 years. It carries C-band and Ku-band payloads for video and DTH services and a high-throughput multiple spot beam Ka-band payload optimised to deliver high-speed broadband internet communications for Malaysia.

The satellite also hosts a Q/V band payload, the first of its kind in the Asia Pacific region, allowing MEASAT to study radio frequency propagation effects in high rainfall regions like Malaysia, to enable the design of its next generation satellites.

“We are pleased with the successful in-orbit testing of MEASAT-3d and its commercial deployment, following the launch last month,” said Yau Chyong Lim, MEASAT’s Chief Operating Officer.

“With this, MEASAT-3d is ready to support the Malaysian Government’s National Digital Network (“JENDELA”) target to achieve 100 percent internet coverage by 2025, as well as our clients’ plans to expand service offerings and improve customer experience.”

MEASAT-3d is co-located with MEASAT-3a and MEASAT-3b at the 91.5°E orbital slot, MEASAT’s key video neighbourhood, to form one of the region’s most powerful and robust orbital locations with unrivalled in-orbit redundancy and expansion capacity.