Chilean Operator Entel announced this week that it has activated the first 5G connection in Antarctica, benefiting 191 residents of Villa Las Estrellas, as well as visitors who travel to the settlement. Villa Las Estrellas is one of the Chilean settlements located at the President Eduardo Frei Montalva base on King George Island.
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Benefits for Villa Las Estrellas
Entel said in addition to military and research personnel, the settlement, situated approximately 1,500 kilometres from Punta Arenas in Antarctica on the mainland, includes a bank, a post office, a library, a church, and a hospital. According to the company, now everyone will be able to benefit from the 5G network. The Chilean company has had a presence in the base since 1997, providing mobile phone services, and since 2005 with 2G.
"Bringing 5G to Antarctica was a huge challenge, especially in technical terms, and we are very proud to be able to affirm that we were pioneers in the world in delivering a public 5G network for our customers, especially in these times where connectivity and communication contribute tremendously to the quality of life of people, mainly in places so geographically isolated," Entel said.
"We hope that this great milestone will allow significant improvements in the connectivity of the white continent and provide important support for the community that works in this area and for the scientific activity that has a great presence in Antarctica," Entel added.
Enhancing Connectivity Across Antarctica
Entel added that this milestone is part of its commitment to deliver the best technology available in the territory, where 315 communes from Putre to Antarctica, including Rapa Nui, already have 5G connectivity, TelecomTalk reported.
With this deployment, the company says that the territory, from end to end, is connected to 5G. The coverage on the white continent (Antarctica) also included modernisation with 3G and 4G technology, allowing a better experience and capacity in the base with an investment of around USD 345,000.
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The company also emphasised that in a few weeks of testing, the antenna traffic reached 28 percent of an average antenna of the network. However, it should be noted that the connection of Antarctica to the internet is made via satellite, which has much lower capacity than optical fiber.
