Spanish satellite telecommunications operator Hispasat, has completed the successful installation of a hub at its gateway in Ixtlahuaca del Rayón (México) to manage the Smartellites™, hiSky terminals that offer mobile satellite services (MSS) and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions through Amazonas-5 satellite Ka-band, which covers 79% of the Mexican population. Both companies signed an agreement in 2017 to jointly commercialize this solution in Spain, Portugal, Latin America, and North Africa.
hiSky Smartellite™, a small, portable easy-to-use terminal, includes a small, flat antenna based on phased-array technology to provide low-capacity MSS and IoT by using the Ka-band of Hispasat satellites. With the new hub installed in Mexico, hiSky’s unique Network Management System (NMS) is capable of controlling thousands of terminals in the Amazonas-5 Ka-band footprint, by providing hiSky’s services to all, and in low prices to areas with no, or low, connectivity.
Both companies made several demonstrations in Mexico City of the Smartellite™ MSS and IoT solutions to leading international telecom companies. Thus, more than 12 companies, among them AT&T, Telefónica and iDirect, witnessed how the Smartellite™ can offer excellent solutions, emphasizing the scenario of remote monitoring and control system sensors. Accurate, reliable, and up-to-date data is available via satellite without compromising on the location of the sensors or monitoring system and the terminals can interface via WiFi, Bluetooth, and LoRaWAN/LoRaPRIVATE. hiSky Smartellite™ terminals also demonstrated the simplicity of making calls by the satellite’s Ka-band link.
According to Ignacio Sanchis, Hispasat’s CCO, “We are happy to announce this great milestone with hiSky and expand our portfolio in Latin America. This will be the first step of a further expansion in our Ka-band coverage in the region. We are excited to begin to commercialize hiSky service and terminal capabilities. Also, the market is responding very well which reinforces our commitment to provide innovative solutions that take advantage of our modern and high performance satellite fleet.”
Haim Nissim, hiSky’s Chief Finance Officer who was part of the team in Mexico City, commented: “We see great potential in Latin America and are proud to commence our activities in this part of the world. Together with Hispasat we plan to bring full IoT solutions which will include connecting the farms in the remote locations, allowing connectivity to the oil and gas projects in Mexico, providing supply chain management starting with fleet management to containers and trains. All of these will be covered by our end-to-end solution up to our Network Management System. hiSky together with Hispasat also offers the most attractive rates making it affordable and cost effective for all users both IoT and MSS.”
