British satellite company, Inmarsat, is looking to provide undisturbed connectivity throughout Guyana for industries and sectors that are affected by the lack of connectivity in some areas.

According to Godfrey Freso, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Skyridium Communications — the local partner for Inmarsat — the company has been in Guyana for about two years and is working to streamline the process with government and non-governmental agencies.

“Our aim and our goal is to bring connectivity to Guyana and to provide solutions that are tailored and specific to every single industry in this country at the moment,” he said.

Many remote areas in Guyana have little to no access to modern communication technologies. Resultantly, communication can only occur at certain fixed points. Inmarsat owns and operates a global satellite network and offers mobile and fixed communications services for governments, businesses and industries.

Freso, who a US-based Guyanese, explained that communication in the local mining sector for example, may be limited depending upon geographical location and the connectivity infrastructure in place.

“They [miners] have to wait until they get to their locations to turn on a radio on so that they can communicate with their camps,” he said. With the satellite communication avenues being offered by Inmarsat, the miners can communicate from any point.

The CEO said this is especially critical when mishaps occur. “If they break down on a trail, they can easily snap a photo and send it to the relevant persons,” he said.

This technology, Fresco noted, is also useful in the maritime, aviation, oil and gas and business sectors as well as defense and security.

“Take the Venezuelan border for example; rather than soldiers communicating from their radiosets at their base camps, they can have mobile solutions and they are in constant contact with the relevant persons from the point they are stationed,” he contended.

As such, he affirmed, “It doesn’t matter who you are, or where you are, our solutions keep you connected at all times.”

Also commenting on government’s ambitious eGovernance project, he said, presently, eGovernance is using fibre cables powered by GTT but satellite technology has a wider reach.

“We’re prepared to sit with them to look at what are their requirements, and [tell them about] our solutions and how cost-effective we can work for them.”

He said Inmarsat wants to work with Guyana’s public and private sectors, pointing out that the rates for its services are second to none.

“We’re price-effective, we provide the solutions and we’re ready to go,” he said and mentioned that the companies have already initiated talks with several governmental agencies.