IAC 2016 Plenary 2: Satellite Communications Making Connectivity Accessible and Affordable to Latin-American Countries

This is second plenary at the 67th International Astronautical Congress taking place in Guadalajara, Mexico. The topic is Satellite Communications Making Connectivity Accessible and Affordable to Latin-American Countries to Reduce the Digital Divide.
MODERATOR: Francisco Javier Mendieta Jimenez, General Director,
Mexican Space Agency, (AEM), Mexico.

Panelists:

– Mauricio Bouroncle, Chief Commercial Officer, Americas for Iridium,
Mexico
– Richard F. Ambrose, Executive Vice President, Lockheed Martin Space Systems, United States
– Javier Lizarraga Galindo, Mexico
– Greg Wyler, OneWeb, United States

Introduction:

Connectivity and Internet access has been always a limitation to allow the inclusion and access to the information society for several millions of inhabitants in this world. This has produced the so-called digital divide that not only produces an impact in the access to basic services but also is an important limitation to their economic growth.

In Latin America, this factor is particularly bigger due the added challenge of geographical disperser communities that also are normally with a very difficult access and with many disadvantages. Just as a reference, in Mexico we have more than 100,000 small communities under this description, they account for around less than 10% of the total population adding restrictions to make feasible to find a suitable business model to provided services.