MUMBAI: PanAmSat has received a top honour from Telecom Asia magazine. The publication awarded PanAmSat with the "Best Satellite Carrier" award at the 2006 Telecom Asia Awards, held in Thailand on 24 April.

PanAmSat was selected for the award due to its market leadership, innovations in technology and services as well as its strong financial performance in one of the world's most challenging telecommunications markets.

"PanAmSat has been dedicated to serving the Asia-Pacific region with world-class satellite services for more than 10 years. Our customers and partners in the region continually look to us for industry-leading solutions for the transmission of broadcast programming, worldwide breaking news and critical business data. We are pleased that Telecom Asia has recognized our achievements in the region with this award," said PanAmSat vice president for Asia Pacific David Ball.

This is the second time that PanAmSat has been recognised as the region's best satellite carrier.

The award winners were chosen for their combined financial, market and technology strengths based on financial analysis and assessments by an 18-member judging panel. The judges are backed by a research team at IDC, a leading provider of global research and advice, using a combination of its extensive communications research in Asia-Pacific and financial analysis of the carriers.

PanAmSat began operations in the Asia-Pacific region with the launch of the PAS-2 satellite in 1994. Today, operating a hybrid network of fiber and five high-powered satellites in orbit over Asia, PanAmSat is able to offer a wide range of services for businesses and events in the Asia-Pacific region.

Customers in the region include: NHK, China Central Television (CCTV), Doordarshan, Korea Broadcasting System, Arirang TV, ABS/CBN, TVB, NicNet and Telstra.