Satellite Technology Feature Article
October 07, 2008
BGAN Mobile Satellite by Tesacom Helps Brazilian Elections
By Arvind Arora, TMCnet Contributor
Tesacom, Stratos (News - Alert) Global Corp. and Addvalue Communications are partnering to successfully deploy a 1,200-site Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) mobile satellite network in Brazil. This network supported the municipal elections in the country held on Oct. 5.
Of the three companies, Stratos is a provider of advanced mobile and fixed-site remote communications solutions based in Bethesda, Maryland.
Tesacom is a provider of remote telecommunications solutions from South America and is a StratosELITE partner too. While Addvalue (News - Alert) is a designer and supplier of BGAN terminals based in Singapore.
Brazilian Electoral Superior Court (TSE) had chosen Tesacom to deploy the BGAN network at voting precincts in rural communities nationwide. This selection has been the world’s largest single contract for the purchase of the BGAN service.
During the polls, the BGAN systems quickly transmitted encrypted electoral results from local precincts to TSE's headquarters in Brasilia. Also, it supported voice and high-speed data connectivity for elections officials at the precincts.
Inmarsat's (News - Alert) BGAN service is a mobile satellite offering that uses portable, lightweight terminals to provide simultaneous, high-speed data (up to 492 kbps) and voice connectivity anywhere in the world.
The service enables communications in areas where terrestrial or cellular networks are damaged, congested, or non-existent. Stratos is a distributor of the service.
Military and NGO agencies, media organizations, first responders and professionals in many other industries worldwide have widely accepted BGAN from Stratos since its introduction in 2006. Having BGAN customers in 185 countries, Stratos now covers 95 percent of the BGAN footprint, the company says.
Jose Sanchez Elia, chief executive officer of Tesacom, said that being selected by TSE to provide such a technologically advanced communications solution reinforces the company's leadership position in the region.
Elia noted that Tesacom's BGAN solution includes the dedicated support of Stratos and Addvalue, and ensures that reliable results were rapidly transmitted from rural districts throughout Brazil during the polls.
Jim Parm, president and chief executive officer at Stratos, commented that it is gratifying to demonstrate how BGAN and the Stratos Advantage can help support a high level of electoral efficiency and fairness for all of Brazil.
Arvind Arora is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Arvind's articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Eve Sullivan
