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ST Engineering iDirect Equips Bolivian Space Agency’s Satellite Network for Future Growth

December 13, 2022 

ST Engineering iDirect has announced that its longstanding partner, the Bolivian Space Agency (ABE), a public company of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, has upgraded its satellite ground network underscoring its future business strategy. ABE, operator of the Túpac Katari 1 satellite (TKSAT-1), expects the network upgrade to increase its cellular backhaul (CBH) service by at least 500 sites in both Ku and Ka-bands and to support the deployment of additional services, including enterprise and IoT, to increase revenue in line with their strategic ambitions.

ST Engineering iDirect’s Dialog hub, installed at the Amachuma ground station in 2019, has already connected 2,000 sites with residential broadband services in Ka-band and multiple enterprise and CBH services in Ku-band. The network upgrade will enable ABE to connect even more of the underserved Bolivian population with cost-effective services enabled through the new innovations offered on Dialog. The breakthrough Mx-DMA® MRC return technology, in combination with the MDM 3-series and MDM 2-series modems, will provide sought-after cellular backhaul services to two Bolivian Mobile Network Operators (MNOs). The waveform enables them to leverage its unique capabilities including higher speeds and optimization of bandwidth, resulting in an overall advantage and increased market share in a highly competitive landscape. Mx-DMA MRC will empower ABE to scale its services while simplifying its operations, sharing capacity seamlessly and very efficiently amongst its user terminals, and satisfying the most demanding throughput requirements.

The tremendous rise in mobile phone usage amongst Bolivian citizens means that cellular backhaul services have become even more crucial to help deliver data services to mobile devices. According to the Bolivian communications regulator, some 90% of Bolivians gain internet access via a mobile broadband connection.

“At present, the Dialog platform serves many types of customers, from mobile operators to individual users, with state-of-the-art technology,” said Ivan Zambrana, General Executive Director of ABE. “The recent growth in demand for cellular backhaul services was a major factor that led us to future-proof our services by upgrading to Mx-DMA MRC technology and we are seeing great results in the efficiency of our services. Thanks to the upgrade, Bolivians living in more remote regions can enjoy a huge variety of services, from video calls and social media access to important apps that enable more effective farming practices or that allow businesses access to the global marketplace.”

“In leveraging the Dialog platform and upgrading to our latest release of Mx-DMA, ABE is positioning itself for future growth and success,” said Darren Ludington, Regional Vice President, Americas, ST Engineering iDirect. “This will enable them to create an even more competitive and compelling service, all whilst lowering their operational costs. The nature of the platform combined with the innovative waveform and modems will also give ABE the flexibility to offer new services to multiple markets as and when required and to deliver the connectivity that empowers both individuals and businesses.”