SES in talks with telcos to deploy MEO satellites for rural 4G, 5G

Satellite communications provider SES is in discussions with major Philippine telecommunications firms to accelerate the deployment of 4G and 5G networks in rural areas.

Harsh Verma, vice-president of sales for the Asia-Pacific region at SES, mentioned during a virtual media briefing on Thursday that they are considering deploying their technology in Mindanao due to internet connectivity gaps.

SES is currently in talks with Globe Telecom, PLDT's Smart Communications, and DITO Telecommunity to bring direct-to-device capabilities into rural 4G and 5G deployments without the need for building infrastructure such as cell sites or ground stations.

Instead of building infrastructure, SES plans to use satellites in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) for data transmission at sufficient rates.

SES recently launched its ninth and tenth O3b mPower satellites using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and has already tested the MEO satellite system with DICT, achieving speeds of up to 500 Mbps download and 80 Mbps upload.

The company aims to work with DICT for long-term deployment after conducting a successful six-month commercial test.