A view of Colombia. Photo: SES Networks

The Colombian Ministry of Telecommunications (Mintic) selected local services provider INRED to install, operate, and maintain 1,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in rural areas around the country as part of the Sustainable Universal Access project. Enabled by SES Network’s Signature Enterprise Solutions INRED aims to leverage managed satellite services with flexibility on capacity and coverage.

This project responds to Colombia’s “the digital future belongs to everyone” governmental initiative, which aims to accelerate the closing of the digital divide in Colombia and seeks strong cooperation between the private and public sectors to connect 100 percent of Colombians. INRED has become Colombia’s first certified partner for delivering SES Networks’ Signature Solutions and will leverage connectivity delivered by the SES-14 satellite, which comprises a mix of wide beams and High Throughput Satellite (HTS) spot beams to cover the entire Latin America region, the Caribbean, and the North Atlantic.

“By working together with SES Networks, we were able to quickly and cost-effectively expand our data and Internet services via satellite throughout the Colombian territory, reducing the digital divide that still separates cities from the countryside,” said Jhon Jairo Ureña CEO at INRED. “This project will allow end users in 20 Colombian departments to have high speed Internet access, even in those areas that have been historically underserved or tough-to-reach.”