Boeing says Mexico orders $1 billion satellite system

Boeing Co. said Mexico ordered a $1 billion satellite system to be used for national-security communications and to improve civil telecommunications.

The contract includes three satellites, two ground sites, operating systems and reference user terminals, the Chicago- based company said in a statement today.

Boeing has been providing satellites to Mexico since 1985, and the current MEXSAT system is the fourth generation for the nation's government and civilian communications, according to the statement.

“MEXSAT builds on Boeing's 13 years of experience in designing and delivering advanced geomobile systems,” Craig Cooning, head of Boeing Satellite Systems International, said in the statement.