3 September 2019 – Gravity Internet (Gravity) and Kacific Broadband Satellites Group (Kacific) have signed a 3-year deal which will bring strong competition to the rural satellite broadband providers market.

This deal will shake up New Zealand’s broadband market by allowing Gravity to leverage one of the newest and most powerful satellites in the Pacific to offer highly competitive broadband packages to New Zealand homes and businesses outside the reach of fibre. It will make Gravity one of the largest users of satellite bandwidth in New Zealand.

The Kacific1 satellite, which is just months away from commencing service, will have three high throughput beams pointed at New Zealand, providing coverage to anywhere on the three main islands. Gravity has committed to a portion of the capacity of each beam and will increase capacity as its customer-base continues to grow.

“Our message to rural and digitally disenfranchised New Zealanders is simple: your wait for faster broadband will soon be over,” says Gravity Co-founder, Tim Johnson. “Once Kacific1 is launched and commissioned we’ll be able to install a dish, get you connected, and you can start streaming on speeds of up to 50mbps. You will no longer be in

a hold queue waiting for fibre to be rolled out or cell sites to be constructed.”

“The powerful Kacific1 satellite will open the throttle on satellite broadband. We’ll be offering customers greater capacity, which brings greater speeds,” says Johnson.

Gravity distributes internet services to 1.2 metre dishes, which maximises quality of service. The dishes are designed to work in extra-urban and remote places and can even be solar powered. Gravity’s customers can use satellite internet for a range of activities from online banking, commerce and communications, to streaming video and making video-calls.

“We are very pleased that Gravity has selected Kacific for its bandwidth retail solution in New Zealand,” says Kacific CEO, Christian Patouraux. “With its tremendous amount of bandwidth, its simple antenna deployment and its very attractive price point, Kacific1 is an ideal for the provision of both remote and rural internet services,” says Patouraux.

“Kacific’s retailers across the Pacific are getting great responses and seeing real social and trade benefits through connecting health clinics, schools, small businesses and residents. These retailers are also providing business continuity solutions and connectivity resilience, to help businesses deal with fibre cuts for example,” says Matteo Catanuto, Vice President Sales New Zealand, Kacific. “So, we’re looking forward to Gravity bringing a superior experience to some of the Kiwis who’ve been left with substandard internet for far too long.”

Kacific1 is a next-generation, high-throughput satellite (HTS) with 56 spot beams streaming broadband to more than 25 nations. Kacific1 is in the final testing phase at Boeing and will be launched into orbit on a SpaceX rocket towards the end of 2019.

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Media Contact

Nicole Steven, Botica Butler Raudon Partners, nicoles@botica.co.nz +64 21 025 31886

About Kacific

Kacific Broadband Satellites Group is a satellite operator providing high-speed broadband for underserved, extra-urban and rural markets with disseminated pockets of population. It addresses the gap in supply with specifically designed satellites using the latest multi-beam and high throughput space communications and ground technology transmitting over the Ka-band.

Using cost-effective technology and a lean business model, Kacific aims to provide better broadband quality at significantly less than current retail prices. Kacific broadband is fostering greater internet usage and fuelling economic growth and improvements in service delivery across covered regions. Its first Ka-band HTS deployment focuses on South East Asia and the Pacific. Kacific’s headquarters are in Singapore with main operations out of Vanuatu.

For more information, visit www.kacific.com

About Gravity

Gravity Internet is New Zealand’s only dedicated satellite broadband provider. Established in 2017 with the aim of making fast, reliable internet a reality for remote and rural New Zealanders, Gravity services businesses, agencies, iwi and homes across the country.

Gravity harnesses the power of next generation satellite technologies and operates an agile business model to offer Kiwis everywhere fast, affordable broadband and a responsive service.

Gravity is proudly New Zealand owned and operated. For more information visit www.getgravity.nz