The deal is said to enable OPT to further expand its mobile infrastructure to meet the rapidly growing mobile broadband and internet needs of businesses and communities in the more remote areas in the South Pacific.
“Intelsat’s satellite solutions have enabled OPT to scale our network as the demands for internet and mobile broadband connectivity continue to rise,” said Jean-François Martin, president and CEO of OPT.
“The optimised performance of Intelsat 18 provides a complement to our terrestrial infrastructure which will enable OPT to further extend its network, increase its business and, more importantly, provide reliable internet connectivity to the citizens of French Polynesia, reducing the digital divide between Tahiti and the remote islands.”
Terry Bleakley, regional vice president of Asia Pacific at Intelsat, said that the challenging terrain of French Polynesia has made satellite the “only way” to connect remote islands to the mainland, and help telcos scale their networks to meet growing business demands.
“We look forward to working closely with OPT and its subsidiaries to expand their networks so that more people across French Polynesia can receive mobile and internet connectivity although the islands are spread out in the Pacific Ocean,” said Bleakley.