Tom Choi, CEO of ABS (left) and Adolfo Montenegro CEO of Bluesky Pacific Group (right). Photo: ABS.

[Via Satellite 01-27-2016] ABS has signed a multi-transponder contract with Bluesky Pacific Group for satellite services on ABS 6. The multi-year capacity deal will offer expanded satellite connectivity services across the Samoan islands and the Pacific. ABS is providing its On C-band (OCB) platform to Bluesky for Internet, telephony and video content delivery services to Samoa and American Samoa. Additionally, Bluesky will provide bandwidth to outlying islands where little or no Internet access is currently available.

Bluesky is a Pacific regional telecommunications operator delivering mobile, broadband, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) and landline services in American Samoa, Samoa and Cook Islands and mobile services in New Zealand. The OCB leverages the resiliency of C band to rain fade, which can be more prevalent in the Pacific where typhoons and cyclones are common. According to ABS, the company’s OCB service is affordable and aims to provide 99.9 percent uptime service that will not be affected by rain degradation.

“OCB is an example of our commitment of combining high quality-and cost-effective satellite services to a market that has not been well served by the incumbents, who have managed to keep prices high in the region that could least afford it. ABS aims to reset both the quality and affordability expectations in the Pacific region,” said Tom Choi, CEO of ABS.