The news comes in support of government initiatives to bridge the connectivity gap for more than 7,500 households across the country.
In line with this, SES and Marlink have inked a 15-year agreement in which Marlink will use SES’s multi-orbit geostationary (GEO) and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite network to deliver high-speed connectivity services to more than 30,000 users.
“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,” said Alexandre de Luca, president of energy, enterprise and government at Marlink.
“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.”
Partially funded by the European Union, the French Government and the Collectivité Territoriale de Guyane (CTG), the collaboration will deliver internet speeds of 30Mbps across the country.
In addition, the two will build and manage local gateway infrastructure to enable close to 3.5Gbps of satellite capacity for consumer broadband, fixed and mobile services in French Guiana.
The services will be split between the recently launched SES-17 satellite stationed over the Americas and the O3b mPOWER system.
“The digital divide is a challenging reality, especially for small remote villages in places like the Amazonian Forest in French Guiana, and we are partnering with Marlink to enable digital inclusion in some of the most isolated communities in the world,” said Simon Gatty Saunt, vice president of networks sales, Europe at SES.
“SES is honoured to play a role in bringing the most advanced and empowering broadband connectivity to the towns, villages, businesses and people throughout the region, which will unlock the full potential of French Guiana.”
