Hispasat to Provide Satellite Connectivity in the Celebration of 5th Centennial of the 1st Voyage Around the World
Madrid, Spain, July 24, 2019 — Hispasat, the Spanish satellite and telecommunications operator, and the association of Friends of the Great Spanish Navigators and Explorers (AGNYEE), today signed an agreement to collaborate and promote the project “500 years later. By sail in the wake of Juan Sebastián Elcano,” which will commemorate the 5th centennial of the voyage around the world led by Ferdinand Magellan and the Spanish sailor between 1591 and 1522.
Elena Pisonero, president of Hispasat, Jose Solá, president of AGNYEE, and Juan Manuel Eguiagaray, member of its board of directors, participated in the signing.
This project involves cultural exchanges and articulation of sense of neighborliness among neighbours and citizens of this planet and consists of replicating the historic circumnavigation in a modern sailboat. The sailing event 500 years ago reduced geographical uncertainty about the shape and extension of the planet, created contact between coastal towns on the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, and forged new routes to extend knowledge as well as cultural and commercial exchanges worldwide. The circumnavigation is considered a historic worldwide milestone and became the foundation of globalisation.
The project will end with the celebration of several commemorative events in different countries, in which the image of Spain and its companies will be the centre of special attention and international exposure. The journey will start on August 10th in Seville and will end in Sanlúcar de Barrameda in 2022.
In support of the expedition, Hispasat has committed to provide spatial capacity for the connectivity of the ship through the satellites in its fleet in all the zones of coverage it navigates through. The satellites are the only type of infrastructure that can provide telecommunications when moving across the water, where terrestrial communication networks cannot reach.
Elena Pisonero expressed her thanks to Hispasat for the use of its technology in service of a project that create understanding and cultural exchange between countries around the world, as well as in commemorating a historical event that remains relevant and propelled Spain in the world events in the 16th century.
José Solá said that the assistance that Hispasat is giving AGNYEE has a special significance since the Spanish operator, by facilitating and expanding contact between towns separated by the Atlantic Ocean with its satellite network, symbolize the continuation of the incredible feat that started the social and economic interactions between continents. "This is why AGNYEE is proud and very satisfied to be able to collaborate with Hispasat. Their broadband coverage will let experiences from the adventure be shared to the whole world in almost real time.”
Friends of the Great Spanish Navigators and Explorers is a non-profit organisation founded in Madrid at the end of 2015 by a group of navigation enthusiasts who are passionate about Spanish history. The aim to promote the sharing of stories of great Spanish navigators and explorers, why they undertook their adventures, and to highlight their achievements and the positive contributions to humanity.
Hispasat is comprised of companies that have a presence in Spain as well as in Latin America, where its Brazilian affiliate HISPAMAR is based. Hispasat is a world leader in the distribution and broadcasting of Spanish and Portuguese audiovisual content, and its satellite fleet is used by important direct-to-home television (DTH) and high-definition television (HDTV) digital platforms.
Hispasat also provides satellite broadband and connectivity services which include Internet access, mobility and the extension of mobile networks, in addition to other added value solutions to governments, corporations and telecommunication operators in America, Europe and North Africa. Hispasat is one of the world's largest companies in its sector in terms of revenue, and the main communications bridge between Europe and the Americas.
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