A rendering of Project Kuiper’s future satellite constellation
Courtesy Project Kuiper/Amazon
Redmond-based satellite company Project Kuiper and Vrio Corp., the parent company of DirecTV Latin America and Sky Brasil, today announced a distribution agreement to offer internet connectivity in seven South American countries.
Vrio plans to use Project Kuiper’s low Earth orbit satellite broadband network to provide connectivity services to residential customers in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia through DirecTV Latin America and Sky Brasil. The agreement will bring affordable, high-speed internet connectivity options to an area of about 383 million people, including about 200 million people the World Bank estimates are not connected to the internet, according to a news release.
DirecTV and Sky will use Project Kuiper’s low-latency, high-bandwidth satellite network to bring internet to areas that would otherwise be both challenging and prohibitively expensive to serve, the release said. With Project Kuiper, the companies will offer nationwide coverage in each country, something not practical with traditional connectivity options like fiber optics or fixed wireless that require extensive infrastructure, it added.
Project Kuiper is Amazon’s low Earth orbit satellite broadband network. In addition to its Redmond offices, Project Kuiper has a satellite manufacturing facility in Kirkland. Project Kuiper recently successfully tested two prototype satellites and expects to begin deploying its satellite constellation in the coming months, and to start service demonstrations with Vrio and other select customers later this year ahead of launching commercial service in 2025.
From left, Rajeev Badyal, vice president of Project Kuiper; Darío Werthein, president of Vrio Corp.; and Panos Panay, senior vice president of Amazon devices and services, are seen outside Amazon’s spheres in Seattle.
Business Wire
“Project Kuiper is a powerful opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives,” Panos Panay, Amazon’s senior vice president for devices and services, said in the release. “There are hundreds of millions of households around the world that don’t have access to reliable broadband internet, which means they can’t take part in things that we can take for granted, like being able to learn online, run a business online, shop, or enjoy streaming entertainment. Working with Vrio to bring affordable access to broadband means we can enable so many more people to create, connect, and learn in new ways.”
Darío Werthein, president of Vrio Corp., said the collaboration with Project Kuiper aligns with Vrio’s strategy of extending services throughout South America.
“We are concerned with bridging the technology gap and even more so the digital divide for our future generations,” Werthein said. “And the time is now. Our commitment translates into action. Providing internet access across the region ensures the development of communities; and that is a commitment for our company. We look forward to bringing the benefits of affordable internet access and connectivity to more communities to reach further with a service that will revolutionize the way people connect.”
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Publish date : 2024-06-13 14:36:00
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