The Consortium announced yesterday that it had been awarded the three zones it had bid - Norocidental, Centro-Oriente and Costa Atlantica - in the Compartel Connectivity project solicitation.

The Colombian government, through Compartel, conducted a competitive tender for the installation and operation of a turnkey telecommunications network which will provide broadband internet access to locations throughout the country.

The tender called for bids on 5 designated zones, of which the Comsat-led Consortium bid on three. The Consortium bid an innovative combination of VSAT and WipLL technologies. Compartel will pay the Consortium in excess of $20 million over five years as it builds and operates the networks.

Airspan expects its share of those payments will exceed ten percent for its supply of equipment and services to the Consortium.

The Compartel Program is a six-year initiative to provide telecommunications access to public institutions in Colombia. The Project was divided into three phases to support Rural Telephony, Telecenters and Broadband Internet access.

In particular, this third phase was designed to support Broadband Internet access for more than 3,700 sites throughout Colombia, of which approximately 2,300 sites are in the zones to be built by the Consortium.

The project involves providing a high-speed Internet service together with access LAN support and PCs for local municipalities, schools, hospitals, and military sites. The Consortium will provide the access through state-of-the-art Broadband VSAT technology combined with Airspan's WipLL fixed wireless equipment to enhance the local coverage zones.

Airspan anticipates initially that approximately one third of the sites in the three zones will be served by WipLL base stations and customer premise equipment, which will be installed over the next 18 months. The equipment will operate in the 900MHz and 2.4GHz frequencies.

The VSAT equipment will be used to backhaul the traffic from most of the WipLL sites. The Consortium will have the ability to cover additional sites as the project is deployed, without having to go through further competitive bids.

Airspan will also supply the UPS equipment to all sites, and directly or indirectly perform other integration and installation services.

"This project is a fitting challenge to our technological and operational expertise," said Amit Ancikovsky, Airspan's Vice President and General Manager Latin America.

"When completed, it will be the largest deployment in the region of wireless equipment in the last mile using VSAT as backhaul. We have done substantial work in integrating our WipLL platform with diverse VSAT technologies, and we are committed to support the Consortium in this project."

"It also adds to our other recent successes in Colombia, and establishes us as the de facto leader in the region's wireless IP space."

"This is a major project win for Comsat International, and for the people of Colombia," said Comsat International President and CEO George M. Kappaz.

"It is one of the largest broadband Internet projects ever tendered in Latin America, and we are thrilled that our comprehensive solution was deemed the best by Compartel. We are excited to have Airspan - as our partner and regard Airspan's support as key to the success of this project."

"As part of the project we will roll-out the WipLL platform in hundreds of towns across Colombia, which will give us the capacity to provide further services at marginal additional investment in the network in the future."

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