MANILA, Philippines — While the Philippines tourism industry is now getting up on its feet, the next few years will remain crucial to sustaining its recovery, as well as the collective growth of tourism-related businesses across the 7,641 islands.
The tourism industry has been non-stop in stirring up programs for tourism revival, such as promos from airlines, deals from travel agencies, and new promotional efforts from local tourist sites.
If there’s something that can boost the industry in these ever-changing, challenging times, that is internet connectivity.
Internet an opportunity but digital divide remains
At the onset of the pandemic, access to the internet and technology offered struggling businesses a lifeline, allowing them to migrate some of their services online.
In the tourism industry’s recovery, the internet continues to enable enterprises to conduct business operations smoothly—from marketing and communications to continuous customer service.
Especially for hotels and resorts booked for company conferences and meetings, a good internet connection is a must to provide guests with a seamless experience. Additionally, even emerging travel trends such as work-from-anywhere require connectivity to let tourists do work while traveling.
But while reliable internet connectivity presents limitless opportunities to businesses, the case wasn’t as easy for companies in remote areas that either struggle to find a decent internet connection or remain unserved by internet providers.
Take it from the case of The Dipudo Private Island Resort in Isabela. Situated off the coast of Maconacon, facing the Philippine Sea to the east, the resort’s off-grid location makes communication nearly impossible for residents and guests.
“Our only solution was to install satellite internet. We first installed with a different company referred to us by a friend. However, that company closed their operations, and we needed a new internet supplier,” says Nicole Maguire, who manages the resort.
Reaching the unreached
“Bambunet managed to arrange a very quick delivery as our previous internet supplier only gave us two weeks’ notice that they were shutting down. During that time, I was emailed videos and documents outlining the installation process,” shares Maguire.
“We were asked to install an app that assisted us in positioning the satellite. We found the setup process easy and did not require a special technician on-site; however, we did have phone support while positioning the satellite,” she added.
Bambunet, powered by Kloche Communications, is a local internet service provider partnered with Singapore-based satellite operator Kacific. It delivers reliable and affordable internet in remote areas through its recently launched Ka-band high throughput satellite, the Kacific 1.
As internet connectivity remains a challenge on many islands and the mountainous sides of the country, the high-throughput satellite of Kacific offers hope and opportunity for these hard-to-reach communities.
But how exactly? Here’s satellite broadband internet explained:
Kacific and Ka-band technology as viable solutions
Kacific, a next-generation broadband satellite operator, covers the Philippines with high throughput beams and offers high-speed broadband in small 1.2-m antennas or terminal kits, making it simple and quick to install, especially in remote areas.
As a reliable internet solution, even businesses with Fiber internet connections can use this technology as a backup in case of outages in both power and connectivity.
What it does: Kacific achieves speeds of 85Mbps (70Mbps in download speeds; 15Mbps in upload speeds), with affordable bandwidths offered at affordable rates. This speed is more than enough to run tools and applications your business needs, web browsing, conference calls, and even entertainment.
For bigger businesses and communities, Kacific can even provide 100Mbps in download and 20Mbps in upload speeds for up to 60 users.
What’s new: Making Kacific different from other operators is its use of the next-big-thing in satellite technology—Ka-band.
This band has higher frequencies within the range of 26 to 40GHz, making it faster, better, and more affordable than lower satellite bands like Ku-band and C-band, which have only 12 to 18GHz and 4 to 8GHz ranges, respectively.
What this means: In satellite technology, these higher frequencies for Ka-band mean higher download and upload rates that provide you with better internet performance. Ka-band also allows lower prices per MB and good power manageability—all with smaller antenna sizes.
Fast, easy-to-install and cost-effective satellite solutions like this give remote areas better opportunities to thrive through the help of stable internet connectivity.
Helping local enterprises bounce back
Imagine how hard it is for tourism enterprises to operate without the internet. How would staff communicate with guests, enjoy the best experiences, and share their wonderful memories online if they are out of coverage?
Kacific’s satellite solutions address this, especially for enterprises challenged with the lack of connectivity services. In fact, Kacific has dedicated spot beams that cover all the remote areas—from Batanes to Palawan and even all the way to Sulu.
Apart from this, Kacific also has two local teleports located in Subic Bay and Clark as its backup sites to ensure that connectivity remains available even in bad weather.
RELATED: Kacific’s rain fade mitigation
Kacific 1 and next-gen technology
Kacific’s Gigstarter Plans offer internet solutions for rural and remote businesses. These fully managed services and pay-as-you-grow plans give enterprises a low-risk way to connect remote operations and offices with high-speed satellite internet.
At these monthly prices, the connectivity solutions will also ensure that all your staff can access reliable internet for cloud applications, emails, video calls, and internet browsing no matter where they are based.
No tourism business should be left behind as the industry rebounds from its pandemic slump. With internet connectivity playing a crucial role in their recovery, Kacific is on their side to provide reliable, low-cost and high-speed satellite internet.
For fast, affordable satellite internet services in your area, call Bambunet powered by Kloche Communications at 0998 555 3243 or visit www.bambunet.com.
For more information on Kacific’s satellite technology, visit www.kacific.com or contact sales@kacific.com.
Apply to be a Kacific Authorized Distributor today, visit https://kacific.com/distributor-network to know more.