O3b Networks announced that Chilean Mobile Network Operator (MNO) Entel has deployed its O3bTrunk solution, enabling 3G and LTE services, as well as broadband internet access, for customers on Easter Island. O3b Networks will provide backhaul through its constellation of satellites to offer fiber-like connectivity to the island.

The project was implemented thanks to the support of Subtel, Chile’s regulatory body, who is implementing a national connectivity agenda to bring broadband services to all Chileans. With the new satellite link, Entel will deliver better services and options for communications, both on and from the island.

Easter Island is the most remote part of the Entel network, almost 3,700km from mainland Chile in the Polynesian Triangle, making deployment of broadband services especially challenging. The island has a population of less than 6,000 people and is famous for its 887 maoi stone statues. In 1995, UNESCO declared the island a World Heritage site. Easter Island is a large tourist destination visited by more than 80,000 people each year.

O3b satellites, which are optimized for providing high-speed broadband connectivity, offer tailored, cost-effective solutions and scalable bandwidth to grow with demand. By orbiting much closer to earth than conventional geostationary satellites, O3b technology reduces latency, increases internet speed and improves voice and video quality for the end user. Entel will be using O3b’s next-generation IP trunking solution, O3bTrunk, which boosts existing link capacities comparable to the throughput and latency of terrestrial fiber, while avoiding costly undersea cabling to the island.

The O3bTrunk product delivers latency equivalent to long haul fiber, with round-trip times of less than 150 milliseconds. This allows access to improved quality voice, streaming HD video, social media, online gaming, enterprise software applications and overall performance for the end-user on par with connections in Santiago or other mainland cities.

“We are excited to see that O3bTrunk is now live on Easter Island, a place right in the middle of the Pacific, which makes it very difficult to reach by terrestrial networks” said Omar Trujillo, VP Americas for O3b. “We are pleased to be enabling broadband, and a true 4G experience to the island’s residents, thanks to our low latency. We look forward to continuing our work with Entel to provide flexible, reliable and scalable solutions to difficult to reach areas in Chile, Peru and beyond.”