The hub, to be deployed in the second or third quarters of this year following negotiations with US vendors in March, will operate over the C, Ku and Ka microwave bands. The Ka-band is intended to provide additional broadband bandwidth than is currently available in the Australian market.

"We've just finalised the paperwork to make the necessary licensing applications," the company's chief executive, David Ruddiman, said.

While it currently costs some $200-300 to transfer each megabyte under existing satellite technologies, Ruddiman said the Ka-band capability could reduce this to $2-3, potentially signalling a "game changer" for the market.

"The reality is I think that there has been a history of satellite seen as being inferior in technology and in bandwdith, capacity and everything else and, to an extent, that's true," he said.

"I think the game has shifted remarkably with the introduction of Hughes' and ViaSat's new 100gig plus satellites with Ka-band rather than Ku. There's a shift away, particularly with your fixed satellite services to satellites that have much larger capacity."