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São Paulo – On January 26, Al Yah 3, the third satellite of communications company Yahsat, went into orbit. Launched one day before from the base of Kourou, French Guiana, the satellite went through some unexpected problems that moved it into a different orbit from the one originally planned, but it’s functional and operating normally.
This was a crucial step for the beginning of Yahsat operations in Brazil. The satellite communications company based in Abu Dhabi is a subsidiary company of Mubadala, a holding from the capital of the United Arab Emirates. In Brazil, its main office is in Rio de Janeiro.
Al Yah 3 will cover 19 African countries, plus Brazil, and the company wishes to launch its services in the year’s second half. The plan, according to general-director Marcio Tiago, is to offer satellite broadband to regions that are underserved or unserved by the other communications companies. “We plan to offer connectivity services to the wholesale market and high-quality broadband services to households and companies,” explained the executive in an interview to ANBA.
Its strategy will be to sell the product door-to-door, to access clients from regions with still poor internet services. To do this, the Abu Dhabi-based operator started to hire a network of approximately 3,000 professional salespersons. “We will rely on the sales force of these partners,” said Tiago.
Yahsat offers broadband and connectivity solutions to over 140 countries in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and some regions in Asia. It was the pioneer company in offering Ka-band satellite broadband – up to speeds of 18Mb, with low costs – in the Arab countries.
The first satellite was launched on April 2011. The second one was launched a year later. Now, with Al Yah 3, Yahsat can offer internet connectivity to over 1 billion people – here, in Brazil, it’s capable of offering services to 97% of the population, although the initial focus is on the high-speed internet underserved regions.
“We believe in Brazil’s potential: most of the regions are underserved or unserved by the current operators. On the other hand, Brazil is the fourth country in the world in the number of internet users,” said the director-general, explaining the company’s decision to invest in the country.
Recently, the company’s directors met with Paraná’s governor Beto Richa. According to Tiago, Yahsat’s operational logistics office is in the state.
Quick info:
Yahsat
http://www.yahsat.com.br/
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
