DirecTV Latin America and Sky Brasil, Vrio Corp companies, will market satellite internet using Amazon's satellite broadband network to make connectivity available to the entire population in seven countries, without geographical limits.
Vrio Corporation, parent company of DirecTV Latin America and SKY Brasil, and Project Kuiper, Amazon's low-Earth orbit satellite broadband network, today signed an alliance to offer fast and affordable internet connectivity in seven South American countries.
Vrio will offer internet connection services using Project Kuiper's satellite broadband network. Connectivity will be available for residential customers in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay through DirecTV Latin America and SKY Brasil, in accordance with local regulations in each market.
This agreement will bring new affordable, high-speed Internet connectivity options to an area with a total population of approximately 383 million people, including some 200 million people who, according to World Bank estimates, are not yet connected to the Internet.
DirecTV Latin America and SKY Brasil will use Project Kuiper's high-bandwidth, low-latency satellite network to deliver reliable Internet to areas where it would otherwise be more expensive to provide high-quality services.
With Project Kuiper, companies will offer national coverage throughout each country, something that due to cost equations is not possible with traditional connectivity options, such as fiber optics or fixed wireless connection, which require large infrastructures .
Darío Werthein, president of Vrio Corp., stated: “This alliance with Project Kuiper is in line with our strategy of extending our services to South America and strengthens our regional leadership in connectivity, information, digital entertainment and promotion of innovation.
We are busy bridging the technological gap and, even more so, the digital gap for our future generations. And the time is now. Our commitment translates into action. Providing Internet access throughout the region guarantees the development of communities; and that is a commitment for our company.”
He added: “We want to bring the benefits of affordable Internet access to more communities to reach further with a service that will revolutionize the way people connect.”
Panos Panay, Senior Vice President of Devices and Services at Amazon, said, “Project Kuiper is a powerful opportunity to make a difference in people's lives.”
And he noted that “there are hundreds of millions of households around the world that do not have access to reliable broadband Internet, which means they cannot participate in things we take for granted, such as being able to learn online, running an online business , buy or enjoy streaming entertainment. “Working with Vrio to provide affordable broadband access means we can enable many more people to build, connect and learn new skills.”
“Project Kuiper's mission is to deliver fast, affordable broadband to areas that have traditionally been difficult to reach,” said Rajeev Badyal, vice president of technology and head of Project Kuiper at Amazon.
He added: “Our network has the capacity and flexibility to serve tens of millions of customers around the world, and this distribution agreement with Vrio is part of our commitment to working with regional providers who share that vision. We look forward to working with Vrio to serve customers throughout South America.”
It should be noted that Project Kuiper has recently tested two satellite prototypes as part of its successful Protoflight mission. It will begin deploying its satellite constellation in the coming months and will begin service demonstrations with Vrio and other select customers later in the year.
