Venezuela’s sole telecoms satellite has ceased functioning three years before it was due to.
The VeneSat-1, also known as the Simon Bolivar Satellite, was constructed in China and launched in 2008 under the rule of Venezuela’s late former President Hugo Chavez.
The satellite has now drifted off the orbital path that it was allocated and is now longer operational, despite the fact that it had been scheduled to continue delivering services until 2023.
Primarily used to deliver internet coverage to Venezuela’s more remote areas that do not have access to fibre optic networks, the satellite also broadcast Venezuela’s state television channels (which act as something of a mouthpiece for the country’s government) to homes without cable TV.
