Alcatel's Alenia Space has joined other major investors in bidding for Vietnam's first satellite project, an AFP report said.
The report said Alenia Space submitted a bid for the $200-million project along with Lockheed Martin of the US and Sumitomo of Japan.
The report said the satellite, carrying up to 20 communication modules, would have to be launched before the second quarter of 2008 in order not to lose an orbital position booked years ago.
The report further said the satellite, which was expected to be operational for 15 years, would help transmit television, radio and civil aviation signals covering remote regions of the country.