The recently reported SES MEO satellite launches are continuing to bring business opportunities for SES and its customers: this time Ecuadorian state telco CNT is involved.
CNT says it will deploy the O3b mPOWER satellite technology to improve connectivity on the Galápagos Islands, a province of Ecuador that lies about 1,000km off its coast.
On Friday, SES announced that the first two O3b mPOWER satellites were successfully launched into space by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The initial constellation consists of 11 satellites.
SES says its second-generation medium earth orbit (MEO) system will deliver terabit-level scale and roundtrip latency of less than 150 milliseconds.
CNT is a long-time customer; in 2015 the companies partnered to offer broadband internet to the Galápagos. The second generation of the O3b constellation will be able to distribute connectivity further into the islands.
This news follows the announcement that customers of Vodafone Cook Islands will be able to experience 4G+ networks and high-performance internet connectivity across the outer islands due to a new O3b mPOWER agreement signed with SES.
The company also has plans to connect parts of the Colombian Amazon. As we announced in October, SES has signed a multi-year capacity renewal deal with operator Claro Brasil, through Embratel, its corporate solutions division, to enable the delivery of enhanced 4G/5G-ready services via its O3b mPOWER network, in at least eight of 23 cities the operator serves via SES’s multi-orbit satellite network across the region.