Rural areas across Colombia will benefit from free community Wi-Fi zones delivered via high-speed satellite-enabled broadband network, courtesy of SES.

The deal has been struck with the Colombian Ministry of Telecommunications (Mintic) which selected local services provider INRED to install, operate and maintain 1,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in rural areas around the country as part of the Sustainable Universal Access project. Enabled by SES Network’s Signature Enterprise Solutions INRED will leverage managed satellite services with flexibility on capacity and coverage, and a tailored network management interface.

This project responds to Colombia’s “the digital future belongs to everyone” governmental initiative, which aims to accelerate the closing of the digital divide in Colombia and seeks strong cooperation between the private and public sectors to connect 100 per cent of Colombians, said a joint statement.

INRED has become Colombia’s first certified partner for delivering SES Networks’ Signature Solutions and will leverage connectivity delivered by the SES-14 satellite, which comprises a mix of wide beams and high throughput (HTS) spot beams to cover the entire Latin America region, the Caribbean and the North Atlantic. As a certified partner, INRED will also gain access to dedicated bandwidth, flexibility in service design, and teleport operations to ensure high reliability and outstanding quality of service.

“By partnering with SES Networks, INRED is boosting Internet access in Colombia’s most sparsely populated areas, while fulfilling universal service obligation (USO) commitments. The deployment of INRED’s Wi-Fi hotspots will benefit 1,000 municipalities in the Colombian departments with the lowest Internet network penetration. The improved service will bring new opportunities for local communities and businesses,” said the statement.

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