Argentine regulator grants ICT services license to SES

Argentine telecom regulator Enacom granted a license to SES Telecomunicaciones Argentina for the offering of ICT services and accepted its request to be incorporated into the registry of fixed and mobile satellite services.

The resolution does not provide details about SES' plans in the country but mentions that it will operate a non-geostationary satellite system.

This year Argentina has granted authorizations to the non-geostationary projects of Starlink, Project Kuiper and OneWeb.

In May, then-innovation secretary Alejandro Cosentino said that some five satellite companies were interested in offering services in the country.

SES owns medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite firm O3b, having completed the acquisition in 2016. Last March it announced the launch of a new generation of satellites, O3B mPower, with the first six out of a total of 13 having been launched.

In Latin America, SES is a partner of Ecuadoran state telco CNT to provide connectivity in the Galapagos Islands and it also has an alliance with Claro Brasil.

Earlier this year SES and Colombian firm Inred announced that they will provide high-performance connectivity services via MEO satellites to more than 500 homes, schools, government entities and thousands of residents in the Amazonas department.

In the area of geostationary satellites (GEO), SES has an agreement with Argentina's state-run Arsat for the use of its SES-17 satellite to provide connectivity in disconnected areas. In the Argentine market, the company also offers capacity to satellite player Orbith. 

SES-17 is also used by Mexico's state-owned CFE Telecomunicaciones e Internet para Todos to deploy more than 1,100 broadband access points as part of its connectivity program.