Manila – THAICOM Public Company Limited, Asia’s leading commercial satellite operator and the operator of the IPSTAR broadband satellite system, announced that the company has inaugurated its eleventh IPSTAR Gateway in Manila. During the opening ceremony at The Peninsula Hotel Manila, THAICOM also launched the new retail hi-speed internet package called ‘IPSTAR BigSky’ for the Philippines market starting at US$49 per month. IT Phils., Inc. (WIT), IPSTAR’s partner in the Philippines, will operate the gateway and be one of the service providers. In addition to the retail broadband market, IPSTAR will also target government projects, schools, and enterprises. WIT has provided IPSTAR services to schools through IPSTAR’s first generation service using a conventional satellite to Mindanao and many other areas in the Philippines. With the opening of the IPSTAR Gateway in Manila, existing customers will be transferred to the IPSTAR satellite, which is higher in performance and has greater capacity to accommodate the growing demand for broadband in the country. Currently, IPSTAR provides full nationwide broadband satellite services in eight countries with 11 gateways: Australia, Cambodia, China, Myanmar, New Zealand, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.