AsiaSat-7 was launched by ILS Proton/Breeze M vehicle from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on 26 November 2011. It was designed as a replacement satellite for AsiaSat-3S at the orbital location of 105.5° East. AsiaSat-7, a Space Systems Loral (SS/L) 1300- series satellite, carries 28 C-band and 17 Ku-band transponders, and a Ka-band payload and was designed for the provision of fixed satellite services for television broadcast, telephone networks, and VSAT networks for broadband multimedia-services across the Asia Pacific.

With its region-wide C-band footprint covering Asia, the Middle-East, Australasia and Central-Asia, and high-power Ku-band beams serving East-Asia, South-Asia, the Philippines, as well as a steerable Ku-beam, AsiaSat-7 supports a broad range of applications including TV-broadcast, VSAT networks and mobility services across the region.

Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) and AsiaSat announced in May 2009, that it has been selected to provide a new communications satellite, named AsiaSat-5C. In early 2010, the satellite was renamed AsiaSat-7 to serve as a backup for AsiaSat-5.

AsiaSat-7 was used as a placeholder for Thaicom satellite operator under the name Thaicom-6A until the Thaicom-6 satellite was launched in January 2014.