LONDON: Intelsat commercially launched its new high speed broadband via satellite service in Columbia on Monday, making available faster, high-quality Internet access for e-mail, web browsing and e-commerce applications for small- and medium-sized businesses in underserved regions of the South American country.

The launch follows a three-month trial in Colombia involving approximately 150 end customers, including oil services companies, agribusinesses, municipal governments, Internet cafés, political pollsters and insurance companies, says a company release. Intelsat's Broadband Service is comparable to DSL service, providing connections up to 10 times faster than dial-up connections, enabling service providers to offer their business customers direct access to the Internet. ConexSat, a subsidiary of Informatica, is the first service provider to offer the new Intelsat Broadband Service from a hub in Colombia, says the release.

Intelsat plans to expand its broadband service gradually to other regions, with Mexico, Eastern Europe and parts of Asia as the next targets. The new service is initially being offered over a Gilat SkyStar 360E platform, selected for its combination of performance, quality, reliability and economics. Intelsat is continuing to evaluate other broadband service platforms to potentially accommodate customers in other regions with specific needs, the release adds. With additional equipment and software, the Intelsat Broadband Service also supports multicasting, streaming, distance education learning, voice over IP and corporate training, it says.


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