LUXEMBOURGISH satellite and terrestrial telecommunications network provider SES S.A. will introduce satellite-based internet services to the Philippines next year as technocrats push for digital inclusion.
During a virtual news briefing, SES Business Development Director Rob Marabut said their satellites, called “O3b mPOWER,” are scheduled to be launched in the third quarter of next year.
According to Marabut, these satellites would be able to support “massive increase” in the 4G and 5G mobile deployments in remote areas, with “fiber-like” speeds at 1 gigabyte per second that can be experienced even in underserved and remote areas in the country. SES, he said, is already considering partnering with local service providers.
“When its services become available in early 2023, O3b mPOWER’s connectivity will play a key role in driving commercial and economic developments throughout the Philippines,” the company said in a statement.
SES said the O3b mPOWER is based on an existing constellation, which wholly-owned subsidiary O3b Networks Ltd. was building and operating. The O3b system is the world’s first and only commercially-successful non-geostationary satellite system and delivers low-latency, high-performance connectivity worldwide. O3b mPOWER’s fibre-like speeds will enable the delivery of cloud computing applications and services to power digital inclusion, while connecting communities and industries regardless of the remoteness of their location.
“Despite having the highest Internet usage rates in the Asia-Pacific region with more than 10 hours spent daily online, only 73 percent of the Filipino population has access to the internet,” the Betzdorf, Luxembourg company said. “The introduction of newer satellite technologies such as SES’s O3b mPOWER’s reliable high-perfomance, low-latency connectivity solutions are coming at a time where the country is currently undergoing an extensive digital transformation for closer participation in the global digital economy.”