[June 29, 2016]

O3b and Ozonio Bring Broadband Connectivity to Remote Amazonian City of Tefé over Innovative Satellite Network

Located 500km from the regional capital of Manaus, Tefé is a city in the interior of the Amazon with more than 60,000 inhabitants who, even in the 21st century, have long suffered from digital isolation. But the connectivity options for businesses and residents of the region have finally begun to change with the arrival of O3b Networks. O3b enters the Brazilian market, bringing their innovative satellite-based technology providing "Fiber from the Sky". O3b provides high-performance connectivity to Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), local Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and government so that they enjoy a link via satellite with fiber optic quality (high throughput and low latency), enabling 3G and 4G/LTE (News - Alert) performance.

The service is available for residential, corporate and government customers. The solution is being offered in Tefé in partnership with its regional distributor Ozonio, which also invested in the necessary infrastructure to enable a new model for quickly delivering the service where it is needed.

The O3b solution has been active in the city of Tefé since early June and has been welcomed by the local market. On Wednesday (29/06), at an event at the University of Amazonas, in Tefé, O3b will officially launch and present its technology to companies, government and local service providers. The O3b model proposed is based on the "pay as you grow" concept, allowing the operator or ISP to purchase the amount of megabits per second needed, then increasing that capacity over time as needed, paying a monthly fee. The O3b solution can scale to hundreds or even thousands of bps, always with a low response time (low latency).

"Our technology provides the same high quality connectivity for a remote region as a large urban center would have," said Sandro Barros, General Manager of O3b Networks in Brazil. "We want to bring to Tefé citizens, as well as many other similarly under-connected cities in Brazil, the ability to access the same type of connection found in Rio or São Paulo. Any city that has difficulty being connected with fiber is a potential market for O3b."

"O3b will generate a lot of development for the region and true digital inclusion," said Adriano Vieira Vargas, Commercial Director of Ozonio. "This is truly 'Fiber in the Sky' for the city of Tefé."

By 2018, O3b Networks will add another eight satellites to the 12 which comprise the company's constellation today. In addition to Tefé, other remote Brazilian cities with significant population density, but with poor internet connectivity and mobile service no better than 2G, will also be targeted by O3b for the high-performance service.

Because O3b satellites are located only 8,000km from Earth, far closer than traditional geostationary satellites which are 36,000km from Earth, they are more suitable for voice and internet services because the latency (response time) is substantially lower. The O3b constellation is designed to provide high capacity internet for terrestrial providers and high demand points such as oil platforms, mobile operator towers, and even cruise ships such as Royal Caribbean.

O3b has its primary Brazilian office in Rio de Janeiro, and also operates its own teleport in Hortolândia, Brazil, providing more security and speed, as well as more efficient handling of Brazilian traffic.

About O3b Networks Limited

O3b Networks Limited is a global satellite service provider operating a next-generation satellite network for telecommunications operators, Internet service providers, enterprise and government customers in emerging markets. The O3b system combines the global reach of satellite with the speed of a fiber-optic network providing billions of consumers and businesses in nearly 180 countries with low-cost, high-speed, low latency Internet and mobile connectivity. O3b Networks' investors include SES, Google (News - Alert), Liberty Global, HSBC Principal Investments, Northbridge Venture Partners, Allen & Company, Development Bank of Southern Africa, Sofina, Satya Capital and Luxempart. O3b Networks is headquartered in St. Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands.

About Ozonio Telecommunications

Ozonio Telecommunications is focused on providing IT and network solutions for businesses and government organizations in more regions remote Brazil. Ozonio is continuously finding ways to improve the quality of their services and partnerships, offering products that are better, faster and more stable for its customers. Ozonio joined O3b Networks, a provider of broadband services over high throughput satellites, in order to provide broadband connectivity in the state of Amazonas. The Ozonio Network is features the concept of the Micro Data Center (MDC), which is quickly installed and enables the company to rapidly provide services to small and large cities and communities across the Amazon region.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160629006043/en/

[ Back To Mobile World Congress's Homepage ]