SES O3b mPOWER constellation. Photo: SES

SES and Marlink have signed a new 15-year agreement to help provide better connectivity throughout French Guiana. The two companies announced the deal, Feb. 22. Marlink has won a Public Service Delegation contract to set up broadband internet and 4G/5G services via satellite networks covering the entire region. It will now work with SES to provide high-speed services to more than 30,000 users throughout the overseas territory of France.

Funded in part by the European Union, the French government and the Collectivité Territoriale de Guyane (CTG), the two companies plan to deliver internet access of 30 Mbps across the country. The companies will build and manage local gateway infrastructure to enable the delivery of nearly 3.5 gigabits per second of high-powered satellite capacity for access to consumer broadband, fixed and mobile services in French Guiana. This will also allow schools and institutions located in the region to benefit from better speeds and lower latency to ultimately bridge the digital divide.

The services will be split roughly evenly between the recently launched SES-17 high throughput satellite stationed over the Americas and the next-generation O3b mPOWER system.

“We are proud to bridge the digital divide and be part of this nationwide digital transformation to support economic and social growth by connecting critical services and remote communities, as well as educational institutions for the next 15 years. Our provision of digital services has grown with customer demand, and we are again responding with agility and flexibility to deliver connectivity as a service,” Alexandre de Luca, president of Energy, Enterprise and Government, Marlink, said in a statement.