Mitsubishi buys
majority stake in
Oahu satellite firm

Japan giant plans to
invest $2 million in new dishes
for Kapolei Teleport site

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By Tim Ruel
truel@starbulletin.com

Japan's Mitsubishi Corp. has purchased 80 percent of Kailua satellite Internet service company USAsia Telecom LLC for $4.5 million.

Mitsubishi plans to spend $2 million over the next few years to add at least four more satellite dishes to USAsia's site at the Kapolei Teleport, where the company already has two satellite dishes. One of the new dishes will be up by the end of this year. The deal will also give USAsia Telecom access to Mitsubishi's SuperBird C satellite, opening up more bandwidth and connectivity between the United States and many cities in Asia.

USAsia Telecom, formed as a Delaware corporation in 1997, is based in Kailua's Pali Palms Plaza. The company operates the Internet service SkyTiger.Net, the first U.S. telecommunications carrier to offer a high-speed satellite link directly to cities in Asia.

Stuart Browne, a Kailua resident and founder of USAsia Telecom, will continue to own 20 percent of the company and stay on as president and chief executive, the company said. USAsia Telecom has 17 employees, and plans to double that by the end of 2002. To prepare for the purchase, USAsia closed its three-person office in Washington, D.C., shifting all operations to Kailua.

The Kapolei Teleport, on 14.7 acres above the Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park, has been the site of rapid expansion of other satellite companies. In March, Los Angeles-based communications firm TransVision International said it was spending $3 million to build four more satellite dishes at the Teleport by the end of this year.

In March, there were a total of eight dishes at the Teleport. By the end of this year, there will be 17, according to Campbell Estate, the for-profit trust that owns the land under the Kapolei Teleport.