Marlink has completed its ambitious construction of an extensive VSAT network designed to deliver reliable, high-speed internet access to schools, colleges, government facilities and the general public throughout inland French Guiana. In a significant and far-reaching turnkey project which included the installation of a satellite ground station, Marlink has successfully connected 25,000 Guianese and 33 local public educational institutions through the deployment of its connectivity solutions. The project is completely managed by Marlink in partnership with the Collectivité Territoriale de Guyane government (CTG), and the official local public company which was established to drive Guyana’s digital development (SPLANG). The importance of reliable and cost-effective high-speed connectivity, even in the most remote villages for educational purposes, cannot be underestimated. Internet access removes the prohibitive cost of teaching and learning materials by enabling interaction with online tutorials, forums, sources of research and fact searching, as well as keeping pupils in close touch with teachers, school authorities and each other. Similarly, the benefits of Marlink’s reliable high-speed internet solution to the Guianese territory are considerable, including the standardisation, simplification and automation of administrative tasks; the trust-building value of transparency in making information freely available to the public and creating clear points of contact; and the expanding value of a digital infrastructure which supports authorities to keep services running even in difficult-to-access villages. “An important aspect of this project is to help people in remote inland villages to get online with reliable connectivity for educational and social purposes. Marlink is enabling us to develop a more robust digital education infrastructure and connecting Guianese people with the outside world, which will contribute to mitigating the heavy migration to coastal towns that has been eroding the communities in recent years,” said Jocelyn Ho Tin Noe from SPLANG. “Terrestrial coverage is usually unavailable and GSM coverage is poor in inland regions. With the deployment of our VSAT connectivity solutions it will become far more attractive for the young people to stay in their hometowns, thereby preserving the cultural heritage of their communities,” said Alexandre de Luca, President Enterprise, Marlink. “We are extremely proud of this important realisation with the on-time delivery of a network infrastructure of about 50 VSAT stations, while coping with the challenging weather conditions and logistics.”