Jakarta. The Indonesian government has appointed a consortium of local companies to operate a broadband telecommunication satellite that will provide comprehensive internet access across the vast archipelago.

Communication and Information Technology Minister Johnny G. Plate said on Wednesday the financial agreement would be concluded next month to allow the consortium to commence the project immediately.

The project to build and launch the Satelit Republik Indonesia, or Satria, will be led by the Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN) consortium, which comprises the companies Pintar Nusantara Sejahtera, Pasifik Satelit Nusantara, Dian Semesta Sentosa and Nusantara Satelit Sejahtera. 

"We expect the Satria satellite to go to the launch pad in the fourth quarter of 2022," Johnny said in a hearing with the House of Representatives' Commission I which oversees defense and foreign affairs.

Johnny said the financing of the project will involve several countries.

The consortium has appointed France-based Thales Alenia Space to design and manufacture the satellite.

According to Thales' website, Satria will be a Very High Throughput (VHTS) satellite with a design based on Thales' Spacebus NEO full electric platform and fitted with a fifth-generation digital processor (5G). 

Thales will also build two satellite control centers (main and backup), the telecommand and telemetry stations, and the ground mission segment.

In addition, Thales will put in place a complete training program for PSN engineers. Some of them will join the project team in Cannes and Toulouse during the built.

Satria will use a Falcon 9 rocket supplied by SpaceX to bring it into its orbit at 146°E for a 15-year lifetime.

Satria will have a data-transfer rate of more than 150 gigabytes per second and will be used to expand internet access to Indonesia's remote areas.

The satellite will connect more than 150,000 data transmitters across the country to support  a new digital system for education, health services, government administration and defense.