Mirante Dona Marta, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: Higor de Padua Vieira Neto

[Via Satellite 06-29-2016] Hughes is beginning the company’s first international deployment of its HughesNet consumer internet service outside of North America, beginning on July 1 in Brazil. Using the Ka-band payload on Eutelsat‘s 65 West A High Throughput Satellite (HTS), HughesNet service will reach an estimated 85 percent of Brazil’s population.

“Brazil has many of the same market dynamics as in North America, primarily large untapped demand for high-speed Internet access in areas either unserved or underserved by terrestrial internet providers,” said Pradman Kaul, president of Hughes.

Hughes has more than 1 million subscribers in North America for satellite internet. The HughesNet Brazil service will start with six initial service plans — three for consumers and businesses each — offering download speeds up to 25 Mbps. The service will run on the Hughes Jupiter satellite network platform.