Proton To Launch Indonesian GeoSat Sunday
Jakarta - October 27, 1999 - P.T. Pasifik Satelit Nusantara is set to see its Garuda 1 GeoSat launched aboard an ILS Proton this Sunday, October 31, 1999 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 9:00pm local time (11:00am EST).

Garuda 1 is the first of two planned GeoSats that will comprise the ACeS system, a satellite-based, mobile personal communications system providing fully digital voice, data, fax, and Internet services to and from handheld telephones throughout Asia.

Commercial service is expected to commence in the Spring of 2000. The satellite, manufactured by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, will launch on a Proton-D1e rocket supplied by International Launch Services of San Diego, CA, USA. After launch, Garuda 1 will be located at 123 degrees east longitude.

PSN is the largest shareholder of ACeS; other major shareholders include Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunications, a division of Lockheed Martin Corp., the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company and Thailand's Jasmine International.

The geosynchronous (GEO) ACeS system includes two satellites on a Lockheed Martin A2100AXX spacecraft bus. With two 12 metre antennas, on-board digital processing and up to 140 spot beams covering all of Asia, the ACeS system represents the most powerful geosynchronous system ever built for commercial use. Garuda 1 has the capacity for 10,000 simultaneous telephone channels operating in the C- and L-band frequencies.

As a GEO-based system, ACeS will afford a much wider coverage area with fewer satellites, enabling the Company to offer among the most cost-effective satellite telephony services yet developed. As such, ACeS service will be priced competitively with many terrestrial cellular offerings.

Adi R. Adiwoso, CEO and President Director of both PSN and ACeS, commented, "A successful launch of Garuda 1 will crystallize the hard work and dedication of the many people helping to make ACeS a reality. In recent months we have invested considerable hours in building and testing the satellite ground systems, billing and customer service infrastructure, and pricing and marketing plans to facilitate the commercial service launch of the ACeS system next Spring.

"The Indonesian National Service Provider (NSP), which is wholly owned by PSN, will be the first part of the ACeS network that will be completely ready to offer service. "The Jakarta gateway, as well as the Network Control Center and Satellite Control Facility co-located on Batam Island, are fully tested and ready to go. The Philippines and Thailand NSPs, operated by our co-founders, as well as our Taiwan NSP, are not far behind us. "All of the ACeS National Service Providers are working with local distributors to finalize distribution networks for ACeS products and services. With 37 roaming agreements in place throughout Asia and much of the world, and additional agreements forthcoming, ACeS subscribers should immediately benefit from a regionally focused mobile system with global reach," said Adiwoso.

ACeS is designed to be complementary to existing wireline and wireless networks. The system uses a dual-mode telephone handset that allows subscribers to select between satellite or cellular (either GSM or AMPS) modes of operations. ACeS is a part of the GSM Group, thereby enabling ACeS subscribers to roam on any network worldwide. Conversely, GSM users from all over the world will be able to use the dual mode handsets while traveling in Asia.

P.T. Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN) is the first private satellite communications company in Indonesia and one of the leading satellite companies in the Asia Pacific. Based in Jakarta, PSN is focused on becoming a fully integrated provider of satellite-based telecommunications products and services in Asia, including the wholesale leasing of satellite capacity and emerging services such as VSAT and mobile satellite phone services.

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