Satellite technology company Hughes Network Systems has announced that its satellite internet service and equipment will be deployed by Colombian information and communication technology company SDT Ingenieria to connect 670 schools in Colombia.
SDT Ingenieria was awarded the project to help bridge the digital divide in the Antioquia Department in the mountainous, rural Medellin region where terrestrial connectivity is lacking.
The project utilizes Ka-band capacity on the Hughes Jupiter 2 and 63 West satellites and Hughes Jupiter System terminals at each site to power high-speed internet service.
“The solution from SDT Ingenieria using Hughes satellite internet access meets all our criteria for connecting our schools to the internet,” says David Aristizábal, supervisor, Antioquia Department. “We are bringing teachers and students online quickly and cost-effectively with the high-quality service, ensuring access for everyone – which is especially important for those who have no internet service at home.”
Hughes says it has a large and growing footprint in Latin America, where it offers HughesNet satellite internet, Community Wi-Fi hotspots, cellular backhaul and managed network services for enterprises in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru.
Approximately 50,000 schools around the world – including more than 15,000 in Mexico and 9,000 in Brazil, rely on the Hughes Jupiter System equipment for reliable and cost-efficient internet connectivity.
And not just schools. We reported in February this year on a successful three-month pilot of what Hughes calls a new Community LTE service in five villages in Brazil where Hughes integrated its Jupiter high-throughput satellite capacity and equipment with an LTE small cell and an opensource network core – effectively creating a private LTE network.