Anatel, the telecommunications regulatory authority of Brazil, recently granted a four-year authorisation to the Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC) to operate their commercial satellite, Ekspress AM8. The Ekspress AM8, designed to provide services in the Ku and C bands over Africa and the Americas, was launched in September 2015 and, as the westernmost geostationary satellite the RSCC, allows Russia to enter the Latin American satellite market for the first time. Whilst Brazilian authorisations are typically granted to foreign satellite operators through a tender process, the RSCC was exempted from this process and is said to have paid RSCC 77 100 (approx. USD 19 000).
Anatel has said that 30% of satellite capacity in Brazil is provided by local satellites whilst 70% comes from to foreign satellites. The RSCC currently provides a wide range of communications and broadcasting services, such as direct-to-home (DTH) and broadband services, IP interconnection, cellular backhaul, among others, in 52 countries with a fleet of 12 satellites.
Author: Marilyn Kawakami, Policy Analyst, Access Partnership
