ICL and Intelsat ready to deliver satellite communication services
March 6, 2024 4:00 am | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook
By Anita Roberts & Kizzy Kalsakau.
Interchange Limited (ICL) and Intelsat, the world’s leading satellite services provider are ready to deliver communication services including affordable data via satellite connection to enterprise customers.
ICL, a bandwidth wholesaler and owner of AelanSat satellite service and subsea cable between Port Vila and Suva (Fiji), is mostly owned by the government.
The company’s new General Manager (GM), Naill Downey, said they want to bring Internet access to underserved areas with limited and no connectivity.
He said they aim to provide solutions for businesses and government sectors including education, maritime, tourism, telecommunications, medical and media.
GM Downey said their service serves as a reliable backup for schools, health facilities and post offices when normal connectivity is affected by a disaster.
Vanuatu is frequently struck by Tropical Cyclones (TCs) and earthquakes. Although it has the highest likelihood of a disaster in the world, Vanuatu relies heavily on a single subsea cable exposing the country to severe economic shocks in the event of a service disruption.
Located at the Interchange’s landing station, this new state of the art satellite hub will help provide the country with a strong redundancy path in case of an emergency if the sea-cable was to go down due to a natural disaster like what happened in Tonga in 2021.
According to Downey, Intelsat has numerous Ku-band satellite systems susceptible to rain, he said.
Chairman of ICL Board, Jean Marie Daffau, mentioned that ICL is talking with many global players to bring their technologies to Vanuatu.
“Satellite technology has been a little sterile for the past 10 years, but it is about to fuel the next major leap forward in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and offers 100% global coverage by 2030. That is only a few years away. It will be affordable, and the aim is to change the way we live,” he said.
“I am confident that Interchange will be part of this ICT revolution which is gathering speed by the year. It is changing the globe, making the world smaller, shrinking borders by the day. Some people fear it; however, I feel strongly that it must be embraced as it will fuel the economies of the future including new industries and sectors such as MedTech, FinTech, data centres and new media opportunities.”
A team from Intelsat Oceania Region were here for the launching of the new partnership last Thursday. The multinational satellite services provider with headquarters in USA is confident their partnership will not only bring reliable and affordable internet connection, but will provide employment skills and employment in the industry.
Both ICL and Intelsat took the opportunity during the launch to demonstrate the range of services now available to the government and business community. The new service will be under the AelanSat brand.
ICL said it is an exciting time for them as they will be celebrating 10 years operating wholesale services through its sea cable and landing station this year.
