O3b Networks began delivering its “Fiber from the Sky” satellite service to Tefé, a city of 60,000 located in the interior of the Amazon, about 500km from the regional capital of Manaus.
The announcement marks O3b’s entrance into the Brazilian market. O3b provides high-performance connectivity to Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), local Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and government so that they enjoy a link via satellite with fiber optic quality (high throughput and low latency), enabling 3G and 4G/LTE performance. O3b satellites are located only 8,000km from Earth, far closer than traditional geostationary satellites which are 36,000km from Earth.
“Our technology provides the same high quality connectivity for a remote region as a large urban center would have,” said Sandro Barros, General Manager of O3b Networks in Brazil. “We want to bring to Tefé citizens, as well as many other similarly under-connected cities in Brazil, the ability to access the same type of connection found in Rio or São Paulo. Any city that has difficulty being connected with fiber is a potential market for O3b.”
By 2018, O3b Networks will add another eight satellites to the 12 which comprise the company’s constellation today.
