"To infinity and beyond"

This week, a project that was six years in the making, which aims to bring faster and cheaper broadband to billions that do not have access to it literally got off the ground with the launch of four satellites.

O3b, which stands for the "other 3 billion," believes its novel approach of using spacecraft flying in the medium-earth orbit (MEO) at 8,000km, a quarter of the distance from the earth than that of geostationary satellites, will substantially reduce latency of the signal and provide fiber quality broadband access for backhaul where fiber does not exist.

Though the project has had important backing from Google, Liberty Global, HSBC and SES, from the beginning it has not lacked naysayers.

Four more satellites have to be put into orbit before the project can start operations. BNamericas spoke to O3b's CEO, Steve Collar, and asked about its immediate impact on Latin America.

BNamericas: What areas will be covered by the first satellites to be orbited? Will Latin America be covered?

Collar: The constellation will cover a band 45 degrees North and South of the Equator.  That will cover all of Central America and almost all of South America down to most of the tip of the Southern Cone. We launched the first four satellites yesterday [Jun 26] and will launch the next four in September. After a brief testing period, we will be fully operational with a constellation of eight ready for service in November.

BNamericas: How much capacity has O3b already got committed through contracts?

Collar: About a third of the initial capacity is committed and there are many more customers that are in the process.

BNamericas: How many contracts has O3b sealed in Latin America so far?

According to our archives, O3b has capacity contracts with Ozônio Telecomunicações for the Brazilian Amazon region, Skynet Colombia for the Colombian Amazon, and Royal Caribbean Cruises [RCC] (is that really the other 3bn?)

Collar: You missed Quark of Guyana, who signed on for O3b services in 2009. RCC is definitely part of the other 3 Billion. A cruise ship is very similar to a remote, floating island that has no fiber connection and, until now, had to rely on a traditional satellite for all voice and data connectivity.  Because of the distance from the surface of the earth and the expense of traditional satellites, connectivity on even the largest, most luxurious ships has been slow and expensive. With this agreement, RCC will dramatically increase the capacity and speed of the connection to their flagships Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas to give guests an onshore connectivity experience.

BNamericas: Is O3b planning to provide backhaul for government national connectivity plans?

Collar: Yes, that will be a core target market for O3b. 

BNamericas: Google is one of the sponsors of O3b. Google also has the Loon project. Does Loon represent competition for O3b?

Collar: Project Loon is a fantastic project with great potential designed for last mile connectivity for consumers. O3b is a middle mile solution for internet service providers, telecom/mobile operators, enterprises and governments. O3b will be ready to serve customers in November 2013. The two do not compete.

BNamericas: Does O3b need to reach agreement for spectrum with regulators in all of the countries it covers?

Collar: O3b has all appropriate ITU fillings for our orbital position. Like all operators, O3b needs licenses to land traffic at the gateway teleports it uses around the world. O3b has obtained licenses for the first four gateways in the US (Hawaii), Greece, Australia and Peru. All four gateways are operational now and will be tested with the first four satellites launched today.