Collaboration under the GESAC program, a federal government initiative promoting digital inclusion across Brazil with high-speed broadband over satellite

Telebras has selected SES, along with other partners, to support the implementation of Brazil’s Electronic Government Program — Citizen Assistance Service (GESAC). The partnership between the companies enabled the implementation of the Managed Enterprise solution across more than 1,500 sites in public institutions, schools, libraries, telecenters, health units, indigenous villages and rural settlements across the country’s Northern Region.

As part of SES’s Managed Enterprise solution delivered over its high-throughput SES-17 Ka-band satellite, SES will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the network, including satellite, gateways and remote sites. The sites have been connected since April 2024 and are supported by SES’s new gateway in Hortolandia, Brazil. SES-17 is a geostationary satellite that offers an optimised solution for accelerating digital inclusion programs across the region, which offers full coverage over Brazil and the rest of Latin America.

The GESAC Program is primarily aimed at communities in a state of social vulnerability located in rural and remote areas throughout Brazil, promotes digital and social inclusion, and encourages e-government initiatives by government agencies. The program is coordinated by the Ministry of Communications (MCom) and has over 15,000 free Internet points in operation since its creation in 2002.

“Telebras has extensive experience in digital inclusion, and we have long been an ally of remote and underserved communities by bringing information and communication technologies that promote digital access and progress. As part of this project, we will do much more because digital inclusion enhances access to citizenship,” said Frederico Siqueira, President of Telebras. “SES is a great partner that shares our commitment to bridging the digital divide across Brazil, and with its Managed Enterprise solution via SES-17 satellite and the ability to reach remote areas across the entire country, we will continue to provide life-changing internet access to many.”

“Brazil has made significant progress in recent years in improving the population’s access to the Internet, but there still room for improvement on the reach and quality of the services covering some low-density population areas in the country. We are delighted to support Telebras as part of the GESAC Program and at the same time contribute to the social advancement of communities that historically had little or no connectivity,” explained Omar Trujillo, Vice President of Enterprise Americas at SES. “Through a combination of our cutting-edge ground system technology, advanced satellite capabilities, and service lifecycle expertise, our Managed Enterprise via SES-17 service provides the throughput, high performance and flexibility required to connect underserved and isolated places across Brazil and throughout the Americas region with minimal initial capital expenditures. Satellite-enabled solutions play a fundamental role in reducing the digital divide especially for those areas and communities.”

Source: BUSINESS WIRE