Inmarsat is teaming with Instituto Ilhas do Brasil (the Institute of Brazilian Islands) to bring modern communications to some of Brazil’s most isolated offshore communities.

Inmarsat is offering use of its Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) service to monitor 1,000 islands off the coast of Brazil. Many of Brazil’s 1,000-plus islands never have been explored by scientists. Initially, expeditions supported by the institute will use BGAN to share images and data gathered about the biodiversity of the islands.

The agreement also will provide mobile voice and broadband services to the islands for the first time.

"We believe offering communication access to the thousands of people who inhabit Brazil’s small coastal and island communities is not a matter of privilege but a necessity,” Alexandre Castro, general director of the Instituto Ilhas do Brasil, said in a statement. “And for that reason, we are sure that through this partnership between Inmarsat and the institute we will be able to showcase the BGAN solution as an indispensable tool for promoting both digital inclusion, and the democratization of knowledge and information.”