Viasat will offer low-cost satellite internet to remote areas of Latin America

The satellite internet company Viasat will enter Latin America as an internet provider to remote communities with limited connectivity, the firm said Tuesday, seeking to win clients where telecommunications companies have not made progress.

The project will include the Peruvian financial holding Intercorp and to Central American Bottling Corp (CBC), which distributes PepsiCo beverages in the region. CBC will help distribute the infrastructure necessary to connect to the internet via satellite.

“We can drastically reduce the cost of delivery (online)”Said Rick Baldridge, president and CEO of Viasat, in an interview. “That allows us to go anywhere. Doing that at a very, very low cost, ”he added.

The companies involved in the project declined to provide details on the investment or how much consumers would roughly pay for the service. The measure aims focus on remote communities where the cost of providing satellite internet is cheaper than building cell phone towers or installing fiber optics.

Carlos Casabonne, director of the Intercorp subsidiary participating in the project, stated that the infrastructure needs imply the supply of satellite dishes to small local wineries. “That creates ‘hotspots’ (access points) 200 meters in length,” he said.

Small wineries could then sell internet access cheaply. Casabonne cautioned that the project would still be a for-profit venture. Initial coverage areas will focus on Guatemala and Jamaica, but eventually expand to other parts of Central and South America.

Viasat said that It can currently serve clients as far as northern Colombia, but expects to install an additional satellite next year that will offer coverage in South America.. Viasat announced Monday that it was buying rival Inmarsat for $ 7.3 billion.

(With information from Reuters / By Marcelo Rochabrun)

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