Story Of Sentosa - Singapore's Satellite Earth Station
- Singapore Broadcasting Corporation Fonds
Fonds/Collection
- Radio and Television Singapore Series
Series
-
Radio-Television Singapore
Creator
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Television Corporation of Singapore
Source
- 20/10/1971
Record Date
- 23/10/1971
Broadcast/Release Date
- 00:15:45
Recorded Duration
- English
Recording Language
-
1997002763
Accession No.
- Audiovisual
Type
- 1 inch B
Format
-
Access permitted
Conditions Governing Access
-
Use and reproduction require written permission from copyright owner(s). Processing of reproduction request may require 7 working days.
Conditions Governing Reproduction
-
Synopsis :This documentary looks at the setting up of a $10 million satellite earth station in Sentosa, an island two kilometres south of Singapore. Sentosa has played many roles in Singapore's history.
In the early days, it was an outpost against piracy and later, a British garrison.
The siting of the earth station in Sentosa bears testimony to Singapore's reputation as a telecommunications centre of the region. Sentosa was chosen because of its ideal position. The earth station is located in the south eastern part of the island which does not have built up areas and provides maximum protection against industrial noise and radio interference.
The contract to build the station was given to Nippon Electric Company (NEC) of Japan in August 1970. NEC was responsible for constructing and installing the microwave tower, antenna dish and communications equipment for the station complex. The project was financed out of a special grant and loan arrangement with the Japanese government.
On 24 January 1971, the foundation stone for the earth satellite station was laid by Minister for Communications Yong Nyuk Lin who said that this was a significant milestone in Singapore's communications history as we enter the space communications age. He added that the first antenna will work towards the Indian Ocean satellite to reach out to Australia and Britain and the second antenna will work towards the Pacific Ocean satellite by 1973 to make contact with Canada, the United States and South America.
The programme also looks at the financial benefits of the project. In 1971, the telecommunications department reaped a profit of $25 million. With the earth station, it hopes to make more profit.
As there is a shortage of experienced telecommunications engineers, 30 local technicians are receiving training from their Japanese counterparts working on the Sentosa project. Others will be sent abroad for advanced training. The earth station went into operation on 8 August 1971 with live telecasts of news from the NHK in Japan, the Australian Broadcasting Commission and the British Broadcasting Corporation.
