$3.5M for satellite broadband

Broadband services provider Multiemedia Limited has received a $3.5 million cash injection from Sydney-based Findlay & Co Stockbrokers to ramp up its NewSat satellite service.

The company claimed the injection would be used to expand infrastructure around its two-way satellite technology and assist with working capital as the company drives to become a leading provider of high-speed broadband services across the Asia-Pacific region.

Multiemedia recently signed an agreement with Microsoft to deliver the software giant's products via satellite. It also signed reseller agreements with Adelaide-based Australian Private Networks and Soul Pattinson Telecommunications, the company said.

'Multiemedia will have the capital and the workforce to make huge inroads into the new generation of high-speed broadband - what we are calling true broadband, which is 15 to 20 times faster than ADSL, cable or ISDN,' said John Walker, chairman at Multiemedia.

The cash injection would be in the form of a loan which would be converted into shares from 29 August, the company said.