Viasat to offer 'low-cost' satellite internet to remote areas in Latin America
09/11/2021 13:00
By Marcelo Rochabrun
LIMA, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Satellite internet company Viasat
VSAT.O will enter Latin America as an internet provider
targeting remote communities with limited connectivity, the
company said on Tuesday, seeking to win customers where telecoms
have failed to make inroads.
"We can drive the cost of (internet) delivery down
dramatically," Rick Baldridge, Viasat President and chief
executive, said in an interview. "That allows us to go anywhere.
To do that at a very, very low cost."
The project will include Peruvian conglomerate Intercorp
Financial Services IFS.LM and Central American Bottling Corp
(CBC), which delivers PepsiCo PEP.O beverages in the region.
CBC will help distribute the necessary infrastructure to pick up
satellite internet.
The companies declined to offer details on the size of the
investment or roughly how much consumers would pay for the
service. The move aims to focus on remote communities where the
cost of providing satellite internet is cheaper than building
build cellphone towers or installing fiber optic.
Carlos Casabonne, the head of the Intercorp subsidiary
participating in the project, said the infrastructure needs
entail providing satellite dishes to small local shops.
"That creates hot spots that can reach a radius of 200
meters," Cassabone said.
The stores could then sell internet access cheaply. He
cautioned that the project was still a for-profit venture.
Initial coverage areas will focus on Guatemala and Jamaica,
but would eventually expand to other parts of Central and South
America.
Viasat said it can currently serve customers up to north
Colombia, but expects to install an additional satellite next
year that will offer coverage in South America.
Viasat announced on Monday that it was buying rival Inmarsat
for $7.3 billion. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2RZ3IA
(Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
((marcelo.rochabrun@thomsonreuters.com; +55 11 5644 7768;))