Intelsat and Andesat bring Mobile Broadband to Rural Communities in Perú

Intelsat (NYSE: I) and Andesat are partnering to bring end-to-end mobile broadband (3G) service to remote communities across Perú. The two companies have developed a new model that will quickly and efficiently bring life-changing 3G access to 154 rural Peruvian communities in 2020, and as many as 400 remote sites in Perú 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, who is featured in the #TeConectamosPeru campaign that Andesat launched last week to promote the initiative.

Research shows that connectivity can have life-changing impacts for unconnected remote communities. The World Bank estimates that for every 10 percent increase in high-speed Internet connections, a country’s gross domestic product rises approximately by 1.4 percent.

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 Perú 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 Perú, 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.

“This initiative is going to change lives in a fundamental way,” said Andesat Group CEO Pablo Rasore. “In addition to enabling the people of the remote regions of Peru to communicate, it’s going to enable Peruvians, not only to reach the world in a new and different way for the first time, but to be protagonists in building their own future.”

One of Perú’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 Perú. For more than 50 years, Intelsat has connected the unconnected and reliably delivered content and connectivity to people wherever they need it, even the most remote areas on earth.”

For additional information on Andesat’s #TeConectamosPerú initiative, please visit www.teconectamosperu.com.

About Intelsat:

As the foundational architects of satellite technology, Intelsat operates the world’s largest and most advanced satellite fleet and connectivity infrastructure. We apply our unparalleled expertise and global scale to connect people, businesses and communities, no matter how difficult the challenge. Intelsat is uniquely positioned to help our customers turn possibilities into reality – transformation happens when businesses, governments and communities use Intelsat’s next-generation global network and managed services to build their connected future. Learn more at Intelsat.com.

About Andesat:

Andesat is a Group of Companies that operates in the Andean Region of Latin America, specialized in providing Corporate Value-added Services to different verticals since the year 2010. With three Teleports and 6 Satellites, we cover all of the Andean Region and provide connectivity to remote areas, with a main objective of expanding cellular networks in rural areas. We are committed to reach a little bit further every day, and to keep working towards a country accessible to everyone. We have no limits. The possibilities are infinite. Learn more about the Andesat Group at www.grupoandesat.com/eng and www.andesat.com.pe/en/.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200512005542/en/