mu Space to provide satellite-based broadband to rural Thailand

Broadband user image by Google
mu Space, a start-up space company, has partnered with SES Networks and Hughes to provide satellite-based broadband services to rural Thailand.

mu Space will be using SES Networks’ satellite capacity and the JUPITER System from Hughes Networks Systems to provide affordable broadband services.

mu Space has taken capacity on SES-8 and SES-12 satellites and will use Hughes’ JUPITER System for providing affordable satellite-based broadband for telecom service providers and businesses in Thailand.

Only 12 percent or about 8.3 million of 69 million population in Thailand has access to broadband. The National Broadband Policy aims to increase broadband penetration to 95 percent of the Thai population by 2020.

“Our mission is to deliver nationwide and reliable connectivity to everyone in Thailand in order to improve the quality of life of the local people,” said James Yenbamroong, founder and CEO at mu Space.

“In rural and underserved areas, satellite is the best solution for broadband access as it’s much more affordable and faster to deploy compared to land-based internet infrastructure,” said Imran Malik, vice president, Fixed Data, Asia-Pacific at SES Networks.

“In ex-urban and rural communities, terrestrial networks are difficult to roll out and costly, contrasted by the new generation of satellites and access technologies which bring affordable access to people anywhere cross continent-wide coverage areas,” said Ramesh Ramaswamy, senior vice president and general manager, International at Hughes.

mu Space, a satellite and space technology start-up founded in 2017, develops satellite communication technologies to accelerate the adoption of Internet of Things devices and smart cities. It plans to launch its own satellite in 2020 using Blue Origin’s New Glenn space vehicle and to lead space tourism in Asia-Pacific.