ARSAT

ARSAT, formally Empresa Argentina de Soluciones Satelitales Sociedad Anónima AR-SAT, is an Argentine government-owned telecommunications company established in 2006 under Federal Law 26.092. It was created as a sociedad anónima, but its ownership was assigned to the Argentine state rather than to private shareholders. At incorporation, 98% of the company was held by the Ministry of Federal Planning, Public Investment and Public Services and 2% by the Ministry of Economy and Public Finances. ARSAT therefore combines the corporate form of a commercial company with a public-service and national-infrastructure mission. The company’s principal role is to develop and operate communications infrastructure intended to extend national coverage and preserve Argentine capabilities in strategic telecommunications. Its activities have included satellite communications, digital terrestrial television, fiber-optic transport, data-center services, and support for programs designed to reduce the digital divide. Rather than being limited to a consumer-facing product brand, ARSAT functions as an infrastructure platform for public broadcasting, connectivity programs, government networks, and commercial telecommunications services. One of its central responsibilities is the Argentine Geostationary Communication Satellite System, known by its Spanish abbreviation SSGAT. The program is designed around the use of geostationary orbital positions assigned to Argentina by the International Telecommunication Union and the development of satellites intended to be designed and manufactured locally. The system includes the ARSAT-1 and ARSAT-2 satellites and has also been associated with ARSAT-3, later known as ARSAT SG-1. These satellites form the space segment of ARSAT’s communications strategy and support the company’s broader objective of maintaining national satellite capacity. ARSAT has also been involved in Argentina’s Televisión Digital Abierta, or TDA, a nationwide digital terrestrial television network. The company was assigned responsibility for developing and installing the initial group of terrestrial broadcast stations and for operating the satellite component of the digital television system. TDA was conceived as a common transmission infrastructure through which licensed broadcasters could distribute their programming across the country. A second major infrastructure activity is the Federal Fiber Optics Network, known in Spanish as Red Federal de Fibra Óptica or ReFeFO. The government-funded network was planned to extend for approximately 52,000 kilometers and to carry Internet access, digital television, telephony, and private data. ARSAT has been responsible for construction and operation of the network, as well as for using it to connect the TDA terrestrial system and support national digital-inclusion initiatives. The company has also participated in Conectar Igualdad, a national program aimed at reducing the digital divide. ARSAT’s role has focused on the satellite and network segments that support the program, linking its satellite system and fiber infrastructure to wider public connectivity objectives. At its Benavídez ground-station complex, ARSAT operates a 4,200-square-meter Tier III-certified data center, adding managed infrastructure and hosting capabilities to its telecommunications portfolio. ARSAT’s industrial ecosystem includes CEATSA, an environmental testing laboratory connected physically with INVAP’s satellite-manufacturing facilities. ARSAT held an 80% majority stake in CEATSA as of 2015. This relationship gives the company a direct connection to the testing and qualification processes associated with Argentine aerospace and satellite production. The company has also pursued initiatives that were not ultimately implemented. In 2012 it received a mandate to establish Libre.ar, an open cellular network intended to allow smaller operators to use a nationally reserved frequency allocation. The project did not materialize, and the frequencies were subsequently auctioned. This episode illustrates the limits of ARSAT’s role: although it has been used as a vehicle for strategic national infrastructure, not every proposed expansion into telecommunications markets became an operating business. ARSAT’s identity is consequently defined by public ownership, national infrastructure, satellite sovereignty, broadcasting distribution, and efforts to expand connectivity. Its work spans the orbital, terrestrial, and digital layers of Argentina’s communications system, with the company serving both public programs and broader telecommunications needs.

ARSAT was incorporated in 2006 under Argentina’s Federal Law 26.092 as Empresa Argentina de Soluciones Satelitales Sociedad Anónima AR-SAT. Although organized as a sociedad anónima, it was established as a state-controlled enterprise. At formation, the Ministry of Federal Planning, Public Investment and Public Services held 98% of the ownership, while the Ministry of Economy and Public Finances held the remaining 2%. This structure placed the company within the Argentine government’s wider effort to develop strategic communications capabilities through a dedicated corporate entity. The company’s mandate expanded beyond satellite operations. Its portfolio came to include the Argentine Geostationary Communication Satellite System, a national program intended to use geostationary orbital positions assigned to Argentina and to support satellites designed and manufactured locally. The system includes ARSAT-1 and ARSAT-2 and has also encompassed the ARSAT-3 project, subsequently referred to as ARSAT SG-1. Through this program, ARSAT became associated with Argentina’s effort to retain domestic satellite capacity and participate in the technical and industrial chain supporting space communications. ARSAT also became an infrastructure operator for Televisión Digital Abierta, Argentina’s nationwide digital terrestrial television initiative. The company was tasked with developing and installing the initial 90 broadcast stations and with managing the satellite distribution component of the digital television network. The network was designed to provide a common transmission system through which licensed broadcasters could distribute programming nationally. In terrestrial telecommunications, ARSAT assumed responsibility for the Federal Fiber Optics Network, or ReFeFO. The government-funded project was planned as a roughly 52,000-kilometer fiber network for Internet, digital television, telephony, and private data. ARSAT’s role covered construction and operation. The network also served as a transport layer for the TDA system and as infrastructure for programs intended to improve connectivity in underserved areas. The company’s work on Conectar Igualdad linked its satellite and fiber activities to a broader digital-inclusion policy. ARSAT was responsible for the satellite segment of the program and also used the federal fiber network in support of related connectivity objectives. This positioned the company not only as a communications provider but also as an implementation vehicle for public technology programs. At its ground-station site in Benavídez, in Tigre Partido, Buenos Aires Province, ARSAT built and operates a 4,200-square-meter Tier III-certified data center. The facility broadened the company’s infrastructure base beyond satellites, broadcast transmitters, and fiber routes. ARSAT also held a majority ownership position in CEATSA, an environmental testing laboratory physically connected to INVAP’s satellite manufacturing complex. As of 2015, ARSAT’s reported stake in CEATSA was 80%, connecting the company to testing services used in the Argentine satellite-production ecosystem. Not every proposed initiative became operational. In December 2012, ARSAT was given a mandate to establish Libre.ar, an open cellular network intended to support smaller operators through a frequency allocation reserved by the government for a national network operator. The plan was not implemented. Approximately 18 months later, the frequencies were put up for auction, ending the initiative as an ARSAT operating project. By the period documented in the available reference material, ARSAT had developed into a multi-layer national telecommunications organization. Its activities covered orbital satellite services, terrestrial digital broadcasting, long-haul fiber transport, digital-inclusion infrastructure, data-center operations, and technical testing. The company’s historical significance lies less in a conventional consumer brand presence than in its role as an Argentine state platform for communications infrastructure and satellite capability.

• 2015

  ARSAT holds a majority stake in CEATSA

  [1]ARSATen.wikipedia.org

  ARSAT is documented as holding 80% of the environmental testing laboratory CEATSA, which is physically linked to INVAP’s satellite-manufacturing facilities.

• 2014

  The documented business portfolio includes four major lines

  [1]ARSATen.wikipedia.org

  The company’s described activities include digital terrestrial television, the geostationary satellite system, digital-inclusion support through Conectar Igualdad, and the Federal Fiber Optics Network.

• 2012

  Libre.ar receives a cellular-network mandate

  [1]ARSATen.wikipedia.org

  ARSAT is instructed to establish an open cellular network intended to make a nationally reserved frequency allocation available to smaller operators.

• 2006

  ARSAT is incorporated

  [1]ARSATen.wikipedia.org

  Empresa Argentina de Soluciones Satelitales Sociedad Anónima AR-SAT is established under Federal Law 26.092 as a state-owned Argentine telecommunications company.

A public telecommunications infrastructure operator focused on Argentina’s satellite capacity, nationwide connectivity, digital broadcasting, and strategic communications autonomy.

• Satellite communications

  Argentine Geostationary Communication Satellite System

  ARSAT’s national satellite program is intended to use Argentina’s assigned geostationary orbital positions with satellites designed and manufactured locally. The system forms the space-based core of the company’s communications activities and includes ARSAT-1 and ARSAT-2, with ARSAT-3 also identified within the program and later referred to as ARSAT SG-1.

• Digital terrestrial television

  Televisión Digital Abierta

  Televisión Digital Abierta, or TDA, is Argentina’s nationwide digital terrestrial television infrastructure. ARSAT was assigned responsibility for developing and installing the initial 90 terrestrial broadcasting stations, operating the satellite distribution segment, and helping connect the terrestrial network through its fiber infrastructure.

• Fiber-optic telecommunications

  Red Federal de Fibra Óptica

  The Federal Fiber Optics Network is a government-funded national fiber system planned at approximately 52,000 kilometers. ARSAT is responsible for its construction and operation, using the network to transport Internet, digital television, telephony, and private data, as well as to support TDA and digital-inclusion initiatives.

• Digital inclusion infrastructure

  Conectar Igualdad connectivity segment

  ARSAT supports the satellite and network components of Conectar Igualdad, a national program aimed at reducing Argentina’s digital divide. Its role involves leveraging the national satellite system and federal fiber network rather than operating the program as a conventional retail product.

• Data-center services

  Benavídez data center

  ARSAT operates a 4,200-square-meter Tier III-certified data center at its ground-station complex in Benavídez, Buenos Aires Province. The facility extends the company’s infrastructure portfolio into data-center and managed hosting capabilities.

• Environmental testing

  CEATSA

  CEATSA is an environmental testing laboratory physically connected to INVAP’s satellite-manufacturing facilities. ARSAT held an 80% majority stake as of 2015, making the laboratory part of the company’s broader satellite and aerospace-industrial ecosystem.

• Mobile telecommunications · 2012

  Libre.ar

  Libre.ar was a proposed open cellular network intended to let smaller operators use frequencies reserved by the Argentine government for a national network operator. The project was not implemented, and the frequencies were later auctioned.

• 2012

  Mandate to establish Libre.arStrategy

  Background

  The Argentine government reserved frequency bands for a national network operator and sought to create an open cellular platform that could serve smaller operators.

  Action taken

  ARSAT was assigned responsibility for setting up Libre.ar as an open mobile network.

  Aftermath

  The network was never put into operation. Roughly 18 months later, the reserved frequencies were placed into an auction.

  Source

1. 1ARSATen.wikipedia.org