Loral To Supply Satellite Comms For Chile

Loral Space and Communications [LORL] will supply satellite communications for Chile.

A unit of the company, Loral Skynet do Brasil, won a contract from the Chilean Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones S.A. [ENTEL], the second largest Chilean telecommunications company.

Loral will provide nationwide fixed satellite communications services aboard the Loral Skynet Estrela do Sul 1/Telstar 14 satellite.

ENTEL will lease one full Ku-band transponder, which will provide comprehensive coverage throughout Chile. The contract was awarded as part of an open and competitive request- for-oproposals process by ENTEL.

Located at 63 degrees West longitude, the Estrela do Sul 1/Telstar 14 satellite reaches all parts of the 1,800-mile-long South American nation, including the city of Arica in the far north, the previously hard-to-reach cities of Puerto Montt and Coihaique, and Punta Arenas in the south, which is one of the southernmost cities in the world.

ENTEL plans to use the satellite capability to provide video distribution, Internet access and data transmission services to broadcasters, financial institutions and businesses throughout the country

“We are very happy to be selected by ENTEL to provide essential satellite-based telecommunications services,” said Patrick Brant, president of Loral Skynet. “ENTEL joins many other Latin American telecommunications service providers and major international corporations on the Estrela do Sul 1/Telstar 14 satellite, which encompasses the entire Southern Cone of Latin America and reaches to portions of Antarctica.”