ANKARA

Turkey´s sixth communications satellite will be launched in space on June 30, Turkey's only communications satellite operator announced Monday.  

"TURKSAT plans to launch (the satellite) by June 30 this year. The satellite is expected to be in testing until mid-August," TURKSAT's chief executive officer Ensar Gul told The Anadolu Agency Monday. 

Turksat 4B, weighing close to 5000 kg and boasting a bandwidth of 3400 MHz, will accommodate 43 communication channels.

The satellite will include Southwestern Asia, comprising Turkey and parts of Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia in its coverage area.

Turksat 4B satellite will provide data and Internet services to companies and domestic users in addition to TV broadcasting. 

Ensar Gul said that, with TURKSAT 4B Internet services, provider fees will be cheaper in Turkey.

The Turksat 4B telecommunication satellite was jointly produced by Turkish and Japanese engineers in Mitsubishu Electric Company’s production plant in Kamakura of Japan. 

The last time Turkey launched a satellite was in February 2014. Turksat 4A communications satellite was launched from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan.