Hughes Teams with Anditel to Bridge the Internet Digital Divide for Rural Colombian Schoolchildren

March 3, 2014

Hughes Network Systems, LLC has teamed with Colombia-based telecom operator, Anditel, to deliver high-speed Internet service to schoolchildren in the most remote areas of Colombia. The important initiative is part of the Ministry of Information Technology and Communication's (MinTIC) Vive Digital program to help bridge the country's digital divide.

Hughes is providing its advanced HX System and broadband satellite terminals for more than 1,000 Vive Digital kiosks (KVDs) across the country. The primary service will be for Internet access by schoolchildren, but after school hours the KVDs will be used for additional services to the local community. The Hughes solution is configured to offer Internet access rates of more than 6 Mbps downstream and more than 1.5 Mbps upstream to schools within the Anditel-serviced region. Anditel will install and operate the system as a managed service for MinTIC.

"We partnered with Hughes for the Vive Digital program due to the lower operating costs of their extensive satellite network," said Francisco Navarro, president of Anditel. "The Hughes HX System is highly bandwidth efficient, giving us the best possible economy and performance, as well as being very easy to install and manage," he added. "Hughes ability to perform well with reliable service was also a key decision-maker for our partnership."

The HX System is optimized for carrier-grade IP broadband networking and is particularly well suited for digital divide programs such as Vive Digital. Employing a highly efficient bandwidth management system, the HX solution delivers high performance economically, and can be readily scaled from hundreds to thousands of terminals.

"Bringing the educational and economic advantages of the Internet to rural and underserved populations is an important mission for Hughes international business," said Hugo Frega, Hughes senior director of sales, Latin America. "We are proud to be working with Anditel, a strong operating partner with more than 32 years of experience connecting the most remote places in Colombia."