“The satellite industry is in a moment of great opportunity and we want (telecommunications) companies as well as users to see satellite technology as a way to reach more areas that are difficult to access and as an alternative to support other types of technologies or projects”, says Marcos Duarte, director of sales and operations for HughesNet.
And although the manager acknowledges that in the country satellite internet is still associated with an expensive telecommunications service, compared to the rates that fixed internet sells, sometimes leaving it out of the options to increase the connectivity of the population, the company promote strategies to change this image: more affordable rates and enabling 5G technology.
Prices drop despite inflation
The HughesNet manager assures that the company seeks to make satellite internet increasingly affordable for users, since the industry’s main market is the rural population that telecommunications operators have not yet reached. 90% of the satellite company’s subscriber base corresponds to users, while the remaining 10% to small and medium-sized companies.
The manager revealed that to increase its subscriber base, the company decided to reduce the price of its 50 GB connectivity plan, the one with the most data, by 44%, going from 2,849 to 1,499 pesos per month, while its 10GB plan has a cost of 1,200 pesos, 40 pesos a day on average.
“It is a reality that every year families and users require more data to navigate and under this perspective we sought to reduce the most expensive plan because it is the one that will require the most and although there is inflation we have sought ways to adjust expenses to not transfer them to the consumer and we believe that this is a help for more people to connect ”, he points out.
In addition, the company will support 10 projects led by women, through access to a computer, training, as well as an investment in advertising. “It is in rural areas where there is less support and connectivity for SMEs in rural areas is an access to boost their development,” she says.
An opportunity with 5G
Another of the plans of the US-based satellite company to boost its business is 5G. HughesNet has finished its tests to give access to the fifth generation in networks, through its technology backhaul, whose link allows connection to telecommunications towers, and now seeks to position this alternative with large telecommunications operators such as AT&T and Telcel to densify new technology in the country.
“You can connect a mobile phone tower, like the ones you see on the roads or in the street, to a satellite and thus 5G can be provided. The satellite part is not another technology but a complement to transport the data that a mobile phone company can complement”, assures the manager.
The Federal Institute of Telecommunications (IFT) has indicated that communication via satellite is an important factor for the comprehensive enablement of the 5G ecosystem, since by integrating terrestrial and space components, services can be offered in areas outside terrestrial coverage, including aircraft. and vessels, fulfilling a diversity of purposes ranging from the ‘last mile’ problem to moving connections, among others.
