In recent news, Vrio, the parent company of DirecTV Latin America and Sky Brasil, has formed a partnership with Amazon to distribute satellite broadband services in the region. This collaboration will leverage Project Kuiper’s low orbit satellite technology, led by Jeff Bezos. Through its subsidiaries, Vrio plans to offer Project Kuiper services to residential customers in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia.
The primary objective of this alliance is to provide Internet connectivity to areas where traditional physical infrastructure like fiber cabling may be challenging and expensive to implement. The speeds tested thus far have reached between 100 to 400 Mbps for residential services and up to 1 Gbps for business services. Vrio’s president, Darío Werthein, emphasized the significance of this partnership in bridging the technological and digital divide within South America and empowering future generations with access to essential services.
Vrio’s transformation from a satellite TV company to a media tech company focused on reducing the technological and educational gap is highlighted through this collaboration. By offering Amazon services through Vrio, customers can expect localized billing, customer service, technical support, and content in their preferred language. This strategic alliance between Vrio and Amazon aims to provide a superior satellite connectivity service compared to existing options in terms of speed, latency, reliability, and price.
While Starlink by Elon Musk is widely known for its low orbit satellite connectivity service, Project Kuiper by Amazon has been making significant progress since its inception in 2018. Project Kuiper’s deployment of satellites supported by a global network of antennas is anticipated to begin offering services to customers in the southern part of the continent by July 2025. The gradual expansion of coverage to other regions following a south-to-north trajectory is expected over the coming years.
With a license from the US FCC requiring the implementation of at least half of the satellite constellation by July 2026
