Intelsat Ltd., a provider of fixed satellite services, has selected Boeing to build four telecommunication satellites that will refresh and add new capacity to Intelsat's global satellite fleet. This contract, financial details of which were not disclosed, is the first order for Boeing's (News - Alert) 702B satellite series.

In a release, Boeing officials said that the 702B, an evolution of the Boeing 702 satellite, offers satellite operators a spacecraft that operates in the medium-level power ranges, with six to 12 kilowatts of onboard power and a more flexible, modular design that maintains the spacecraft's advanced technologies.

"We've been developing this variant of our Boeing 702 satellite for more than four years, incorporating low-risk, proven technologies that differentiate the Boeing 702B from our competitors' spacecraft, while providing the flexibility needed to accommodate a large variety of commercial and government satellite requirements," said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems, in the release. "We're extremely proud of the increased value this design can offer our customers. Using our Lean manufacturing processes, this new addition to the Boeing 702 family is also easier to manufacture and assemble, resulting in a high-quality, affordable product."

Ken Lee (News - Alert), Intelsat senior vice president, space systems, said that Intelsat has stringent specifications for satellite procurements. When choosing manufacturers, the company examines spacecraft reliability, the use of flight-proven technologies and ability to deliver on time under the proven system test requirements, said Lee.

"During our nearly five decades of space heritage, Boeing has delivered 33 satellites to Intelsat (News - Alert). We are pleased to continue our relationship with the addition of these four spacecraft," he said.

Under the contract, the four Boeing-built geostationary satellites, Intelsat 21, Intelsat 22, and two spacecraft yet to be named, will offer C- and Ku-band capacity optimized to distribute video, network and voice services from Asia and Africa to the Americas and Europe. In April, Intelsat announced its IS-22 satellite will include an Ultra-High Frequency government-hosted payload that will serve the Australian Defence Force.