After the president’s recent trip Javier Milei to the United States to hold meetings with world telecommunications leaders, such as Sundar Pichai, Mark Zuckerberg, Timothy Cook and Sam Altmaamong others, one of the large groups in this segment arrives in Argentina.
Is about amazon that will market satellite internet in Argentina, just as he already did Elon Musk with his company Starlink that, with its local landing, began to reconfigure the satellite connectivity market.
Satellite Internet: the investment of the local company Orbith
In fact, after this announcement, a national company that operates under the brand Orbit and which is considered the largest local provider of these services, announced an investment that It will be around US$80 million for the acquisition of its first MicroGEO technology satellite to the Californian company Astranis Space Technologies, whose launch is scheduled for the first quarter of 2025.
This is a technology that allows the size of communications satellites to be reduced, optimizing investment and mission flexibility and that will allow providing high-speed internet access services to tens of thousands of users, both residential and corporate.
Orbith is an Argentine capital firm backed by the Boldt Group which has been operating for six years in this segment and became the first Argentine company to implement ultra-speed HTS technology to provide high-capacity satellite connectivity and the first “Multíorbita” operator in the country.
Amazon, Jeff Bezos’ company, gets into the local fight for satellite connectivity in partnership with DirecTV Latin America of the Werthein family
Added to this project is the Innova Space project, which is about to go on sale. seek seed financing for US$2 million to advance with the first constellation of satellites and begin the commercialization of services in what it considers its “target markets”, such as agriculture, oil and gas, mining, maritime and defense.
Amazon arrives in the country in partnership with the Werthein family
In the case of the company founded by Jeff Bezos, it enters the local market in partnership with a part of the Argentine Werthein family what commands Dario Werthein and who owns DirecTV for Latin America.
The agreement includes the signing a partnership contract with Vrio (formerly DirecTV Latin America, LLC.) based in the United States and which is responsible for managing the commercial operations of the Latin American subsidiary of the satellite TV holding company.
The signature fIt was acquired by the Werthein Group in 2021 for US$500 million and currently produces content for television, and owns several channels with five teleports in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and California.
At that time, the operation did not include Sky México, a company in which Vrio owns 41% of the shares, which were sold back to AT&T.
According to the information, from agreement with AmazonlThe Werthein company will offer Project Kuiper satellite internet in seven South American countries to help close the digital divide, including Argentina and Brazil.
In the case of the largest Mercosur market, DirecTV Latin America’s agreement is with Sky Brasil, which is also part of Vrio Corp and that they will market satellite internet using Amazon’s satellite broadband network to make connectivity available to the entire population of those seven countries, without geographical limits.
With the agreement with Jeff Bezos’ firm, the Werthein company will offer satellite internet in seven countries in the region to help close the digital divide
Actually, Amazon will put its Earth orbit satellite broadband network in the agreement with the Wertheins low that operates under the Project Kuiper brand that, in addition to Argentina and Brazil, will be available to customers in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay through DIRECTV Latin America and SKY Brazil, in accordance with the local regulations of each market .
Expensive areas
Both companies assure that The contract “will provide new affordable Internet connectivity options and of high speed to an area with a total population of approximately 383 million peopleincluding some 200 million who, according to World Bank estimates, are not yet connected to the Internet.
The society will use Project Kuiper’s low-latency, high-bandwidth satellite network “to bring the benefits of fast and reliable Internet to areas where it would otherwise be difficult and prohibitively expensive to provide high-quality services,” say executives from the two firms.
They add that from the use of Project Kuipercompanies will offer national coverage throughout each countrysomething that due to cost equation is not possible with traditional connectivity options, such as fiber optics or fixed wireless, which require large infrastructures.
Revolutionize the internet
About, Dario Wertheinpresident of Vrio Corp, said that the alliance with Amazon and its Project Kuiper brand “is in line with the strategy of extending our services to South America and strengthens our regional leadership in connectivity, information, digital entertainment and promotion of innovation.”
The executive adds that his group is “busy bridging the technology gap and even more, the digital gap for our future generations. And the time is now.”
It also details that provide internet access throughout the region guarantees the development of communities, “and that is a commitment for our company that wants to bring the benefits of affordable Internet access to more communities to go further with a service that will revolutionize the way people connect”.
In the same way, Panos Panay, Senior Vice President of Devices and Services amazonexpressed that “Project Kuiper is a powerful opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives considering 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.
For Darío Werthein, Internet access guarantees the development of communities
Regarding the agreement with Vrio to provide affordable access to broadband, he assures that “it means we can allow many more people to create, connect and learn new skills.”
In the same sense, Rajeev Badyal, vice president of technology and director of Project Kuiper at Amazon, explains that the company’s mission “is to deliver fast, affordable broadband to areas that have traditionally been difficult to reach with a network like ours that has the capacity and flexibility to serve tens of millions of customers around the world.
Partner profile
According to information from Amazon, Project Kuiper recently tested two satellite prototypes within the framework of its Protoflight mission that will begin deploying its satellite constellation in the coming months and will begin service demonstrations with Vrio and other selected customers at the end of the year. That is, it is currently deploying its satellite constellation, before launching commercial service in 2025.
Your controller, amazon points out on its website to be guided by four principles: customer obsession instead of focus on competition; passion for invention; Commitment to operational excellence and long-term thinking.
“Amazon strives to be the most customer-centric company on the planet, the best employer on the planet, and the safest place to work,” it adds on its website.
In the case of Project Kuiper explains that his mission is to “provide fast and affordable broadband connectivity to tens of millions of customers who live in neglected and underserved communities around the world.
It details that the brand is building its network with the capacity, flexibility and performance necessary to also serve a wide range of enterprises, telecommunications and public sector customers who need secure end-to-end connectivity services for their people, facilities and equipment. To achieve your goals, Project Kuiper is deploying thousands of LEO satellites -connected together by high-speed optical links that will create a mesh network in space- and connected to a global network of antennas, fiber and Internet connection points on the ground.
Vitro Corp, the controlling group of DirecTV operations in Latin America, was purchased by the Ws in 2021 for US$500 million
As to Vitro Corpcontinues its strategy to expand in the business of media and technology in Latin America and the Caribbean and also in digital entertainment services, content production, information and connectivity among its 40 million viewers in 11 countries.
Currently, it offers high-quality content live and on demand through DIRECTV Latin America, SKY Brasil, DGO and SKY, with sporting events, international shows and exclusive programming in Brazil through the SKY brand and in Argentina, Barbados, Chile, Colombia, Curacao, Ecuador, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago and Uruguay starting in DIRECTV. DGO and SKY, its subscription (OTT) services via the internet that provide access to a variety of live and on-demand programming.
The company also offers fiber optic Internet through DFIBRA in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru and SKY Fibra in Brazil; and has satellites and transmission centers through which it is possible to bring a wide variety of content in 4K format to homes. Likewise, it controls the sports network Torneos y Competencias (TyC) in Argentina and Colombia.
