The demonstration serves to illustrate how the service will connect businesses and communities across Jamaica, and was attended by regulators and government agencies including the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology.
"The collaboration between Viasat and ReadyNet creates an opportunity for many Jamaican business owners and government officials to use satellite broadband in new ways," said Chris Dehring, CEO of ReadyNet. "Through Viasat's high-speed satellite internet service we could offer an economical solution that can be quickly installed and online anywhere across the island. Because of its capabilities, we are exploring ways to deliver Viasat's satellite internet service to connect multiple Caribbean territories."
Leveraging the ViaSat-2 satellite the trail delivered broadband satellite speeds faster, and more resistant to hurricane and other outages, than current island terrestrial-based services. It also demonstrated how the service could be used by businesses and government organisations to connect to critical applications like cloud-based collaboration, Voice-over-IP (VoIP), email, point-of-sale transactions, high-speed file transfers and streaming video.
"Working with Jamaica's government leadership and in-country operator expertise enables us to bring our proven internet service capabilities to the island," added Cody Catalena, vice president and general manager, Global Business Solutions at Viasat. "Viasat's advanced satellite technology enables rural and urban communities to access the internet, bringing social and digital inclusion to parts of the country that previously were unconnected or had limited connectivity."
The Jamaican government has been evaluating alternatives to expensive terrestrial-based internet services like cable and fibre. To date, Viasat and ReadyNet have deployed four sites across Jamaica including government and education facilities in Portland, Westmoreland, Rockfort and Kenilworth.
