Intelsat and Andesat are partnering to bring end-to-end mobile broadband (3G) service to remote communities across Peru.
The two companies have developed a new model that will quickly and efficiently bring 3G access to 154 rural Peruvian communities in 2020, and as many as 400 remote sites in Peru over the next 18 months.
“It will help us solve many things, being aware of diseases, access to knowledge. We no longer feel left behind. We now have what other villages and cities do,” said newly connected Peruvian paramedic Carlos Rengifo.
Research shows that connectivity can have life-changing impacts for unconnected remote communities. The World Bank estimates that for every 10% increase in high-speed Internet connections, a country’s gross domestic product rises approximately by 1.4%.
With internet connectivity, those living in remote areas can participate in e-banking, use telemedicine resources and access potentially life-saving weather reports. Internet access also brings medium and long-term effects to remote areas, expanding access to educational and vocational resources, helping businesses operate more efficiently, and ultimately strengthening the area’s foundation for future economic growth.
Until now, bringing connectivity to the remote regions of Peru has been deemed too risky for any one mobile network operator (MNO) or communications service provider to tackle alone. The innovative and cooperative model pioneered by Andesat and Intelsat enables the companies to share infrastructure- and network-build expenses as well as revenues. In turn, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) only pay for the traffic that their end-users consume.
The collaborative model holds the potential to be replicated throughout Latin America and help MNOs connect end-users in remote and rural areas. The Peruvian government alone has identified over 16,000 rural sites of National Interest in need of connectivity.
Andesat is using its Rural Mobile Infrastructure Operator license (OIMR) to connect remote sites in Peru, sourcing tower sites, designing and building towers and taking point on equipment for the connectivity initiative. Intelsat is leveraging its scale, infrastructure and expertise to assist Andesat in building out the integrated land-space, mobile broadband (3G) infrastructure, bandwidth capacity and service operations to meet evolving end-user demand.
One of Peru’s regional Mobile Network Operators (MNO) is currently leveraging the Intelsat-Andesat model to bring voice and data services to new local subscribers, helping to cement its service-delivery reputation in the region and benefitting a potential universe of 60,000 towns and villages and a total of more than three million people.
“Intelsat and Andesat have long enjoyed a partnership in providing communication services to individuals, communities and businesses across Latin America,” said Intelsat Regional Vice President of Latin America, Juan Pablo Cofino. “We’re thrilled to extend our partnership through this innovative model and bring affordable, reliable connectivity to thousands of people throughout Peru.”