Satellite operator SES and Central American telecommunications company COMNET have extended their long-term partnership, with the aim of jointly delivering high-performance, next-generation broadband services across Central America by satellite.
The services will enable applications supporting the agriculture, trade, tourism, energy, financial, health and education sectors.
Guatemalan service provider COMNET will leverage SES-17 Ka-band satellite capacity and SES’s managed services to offer its new Quanttum Ka enterprise solution, an extension to its portfolio of broadband services.
This isn’t a new partnership. In the last 15 years, COMNET has been leveraging SES’s extensive satellite fleet and managed services in C-band and Ku-band to provide reliable connectivity services to underserved areas in the isthmus. Now Ka-band services have become part of the offering.
Powered by SES’s first high-throughput geostationary (GEO) satellite operating in Ka-band, COMNET’s Quanttum Ka solution will provide what is described as high-quality, reliable and fast internet connectivity services to help accelerate digital access in the region, especially as countries continue to adapt and respond to the pandemic.
The solution will not only enable multiple applications, but will also support business continuity with redundancy services to help mitigate the impact of natural disasters in a region prone to climate and geological events.
COMNET is the first company in the region to provide Ka-band solutions via SES-17 in Central America.
SES-17 was built by Thales Alenia Space and launched in October 2021. Equipped with an all-electric propulsion system, the satellite will reach orbit as of mid-2022. It is described as a state-of-the-art satellite that provides comprehensive coverage across the Americas, the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean from its orbital slot of 67.1 degrees West.