Jakarta. Pasifik Satelit Nusantara, or PSN, a private company that provides satellite-based communications and information services in Indonesia, is set to launch a new satellite named PSN VI in 2018 to meet high demand in the country's broadband data sector.

PSN said the new satellite will reinstate its status as the leader in providing broadband services in Indonesia with the aim to provide data transfer rates of at least 130 gigabytes per second (Gbps) by 2022.

"As the pioneer of the satellite company in Indonesia, PSN is striving to meet the high demand for satellite services, which can also help the national economy," PSN chief executive Adi Rahman Adiwoso said at a signing agreement ceremony with EDC in Jakarta on Tuesday (05/12).

According to Adi, PSN VI is an advanced high-tech satellite that will be able to provide broadband internet services at a much greater capacity and at faster speeds than conventional satellites.

Space System/Loral, a satellite manufacturer in the United States, will develop the satellite, while Export Development Canada (EDC), Canada's export credit agency, will provide financing.

Adi said digital economic growth has made people seek greater access to broadband internet services and he predicts the market will require around 160 Gbps by 2020.

"For an archipelago country like Indonesia, satellite is an important infrastructure to connect networks between islands that other mediums like fiber optics and microwave links can't do better. Satellite is also more efficient and effective in coverage," he said.

According to market research agency e-Marketer, Indonesian internet users numbered 112 million people in 2017, a 33 percent increase since 2014. With that significant rise, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology predicts a turnover in the e-commerce sector that will total $130 billion by 2020.

"The government appreciates PSN's moves as it has helped the country to connect people with internet, which can also benefit the economy," Minister of Communications and Information Technology Rudiantara said.

PSN has also been developing other satellites to strengthen its power in the market, such as the Palapa-N1 satellite, which is expected to begin operating in 2020, and the PSN VII, expected for 2022.