"I would like to thank the Secretariat of the Andean Community and our Peruvian colleagues, who took our application with seriousness and foresight, and, having verified the technical characteristics of the Express-AM8 satellite, allowed it to enter their market," said Ksenia Drozdova, Director General of Intersputnik. "Out of 26 Intersputnik member states, 17 are developing countries. So, one of the main objectives of our Organization is to bridge the digital divide by offering quality services and technologies at reasonable prices."

This event was a result of almost two-years prior efforts of the Intersputnik International Organization of Space Communications to promote the satellite and terrestrial services of the 26 signatories of the Operating Agreement of Intersputnik to markets in Latin America. In particular, the agreement signed between RSCC and the Brazilian company Romantis, a subsidiary of a German signatory of Intersputnik, which obtained a licence from the local regulator to use Express-AM8 in Brazil, has created excellent conditions for successful implementation of corresponding practices in other countries of the region.

RSCC has noted the growing interest in its services from new players in the Latin American market. RSCC has already got an experience of working with operators in LATAM countries: Brazilian regional TV channels and live sports events transmissions are currently broadcasted in the Latin American Express-AM8 satellite beam, which was also previously used for corporate networks in Suriname. Express-AM8 covered the G20 summit in Argentina in 2018, while the same year it broadcasted matches from the FIFA World Cup in Russia (Peru, Chile and Colombia received the signal from Russian stadiums). In the city of Uberlândia, a monitoring station was built together with partners in Brazil to cover the entire Latin American region. "We offer Express-AM8 bandwidth in the C- and Ku-bands to provide the whole range of services, such as TV broadcasting, broadband access, mobility communications, as well as corporate VSAT networks for companies from absolutely different sectors of the economy," said Alexey Volin, RSCC Director General.

The joint favourable decision by the regulators of Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru to admit Express-AM8 to the domestic market of the Andean Community opens up an opportunity for Intersputnik to participate in local tenders and to provide broadband access, broadcast media content and deliver connectivity to mobility users, offering state-of-the-art communications infrastructure at competitive prices.

Express-AM8 Satellite Details

Express-AM8 was put into orbit in 2015, with a 15-year of expected lifetime. The satellite is located at the westernmost orbital position of the RSCC satellite constellation at 14 degrees West, from where it provides stable coverage of the territory of South America and the Caribbean. Express-AM8 is capable of providing a wide range of advanced communications and broadcasting services, including HD and UHD video content distribution and occasional use transmissions for news reports and live events between Latin America and Europe.

About the Andean Community

The Andean Community (Comunidad Andina, CAN, or Andean Community of Nations, ACN) is a regional economic and social grouping of Latin American countries comprising Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. It encompasses the territory of 3.8 million km² with a population of over 100 million people. The organization is headquartered in Lima, Peru.

About the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Russian Satellite Communications Company

The Federal State Unitary Enterprise Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC) is a Russian satellite communication operator whose space vehicles provide the global coverage. The Company was founded in 1967. RSCC is carrying out the business management of Russia’s largest satellite constellation. The service areas of RSCC’s satellites located in the orbit at 14° W to 140° E longitude cover the entire territory of Russia, other CIS countries, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific Region, North and South Americas, and Australia. 

RSCC is dealing with important tasks to ensure mobile communication, the TV and radio channel broadcasting within Russia and to most countries of the world. The Company actively participates in the implementation of priority national projects, closely interacts with other entities in the development of information, telecommunications and broadcasting systems. RSCC provides a full range of communication and broadcasting services using its own ground-based technical facilities and the satellite constellation that includes modern Express, Express-AM, Express-AT, Express-AMU space vehicles. The Company's space vehicles provide ample opportunities for organising TV and radio broadcasting, broadband Internet access, data transmission, videoconferencing, VSAT networking, organisation of departmental and corporate communication networks in any region of the globe. RSCC has deployed the ground-based control system for space vehicles which is used to control and monitor not only its own satellites, but Eutelsat and other satellites as well.

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