Skynet Goes Live on O3b Networks Delivering High Speed Broadband Services to Rural Colombia

September 02, 2015 

O3b Networks announced the delivery of trunking services to Colombian Internet Service Provider (ISP) Skynet over the cutting edge O3b satellite constellation. Skynet is using the high throughput, low latency connection to offer broadband internet to populations in the Amazon, the first Latin American operator to do so. Skynet is using the O3b service to provide connectivity in and around the city of Leticia, the capital city of the Amazonas Department in Colombia. Skynet will provide trunking services to Mobile Network Operators (MNO’s), Government entities and enterprises customers. In the near future the service will be expanded to provide 4G LTE mobile services.  

The use of O3b satellites, which are closer to the earth than geostationary (GEO) satellites, reduces latency, increases internet speed and improves voice and video quality for the user. Skynet is using O3bTrunk, O3b’s next-generation IP trunking solution, which boosts existing link capacities to rival the throughput and latency of long-haul fiber, while avoiding the high costs of laying fiber cables through the rainforest.  

Skynet is a leading satellite provider in Colombia, having delivered connectivity from several major GEO satellite operators for over 15 years. The O3b connection will bring broadband service first to Leticia, a city of 45,000 people on the Amazon River in the middle of the jungle, and on the border with cities in Brazil (Tabatinga) and Peru (Santa Rosa).  

“Bringing broadband services to people in the heart of the Amazon is a major accomplishment for Skynet, and we could only do that with O3b,” said Mauricio Villamil, Comercial Manager of Skynet. “The low latency and high throughput will make internet connectivity, and soon mobile data, indistinguishable from major cities across South America. We look forward to bringing the same service to other rural areas of Colombia in the near future.”  

“We have already seen exceptional reception from end users in and around Leticia,” said Omar Trujillo, O3b Networks VP, Americas. “We’ve worked closely with Skynet on the plan to expand high-speed internet to other remote cities in Colombia, and both companies agree there is a major need we can meet together.”