DATZAP GRANTED LICENSE TO OPERATE IN COSTA RICA Landmark authorization made possible through CAFTA provisions
AKRON, Ohio (October 22, 2012) — Datzap, a subsidiary of VSAT Systems, has been granted a license to operate in Costa Rica following three years of intense negotiations involving the Costa Rican government, United States Trade Representative (USTR) and Ohio Senator Rob Portman, an architect of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).
“This is a great day not only for VSAT, but for U.S. businesses in general,” said Mike Kister, President of VSAT Systems. “Through the granting of our license by the Costa Rican government, we become the first U.S. company to enter a marketplace where there had been nothing but a government monopoly for decades.”
Datzap will offer customers access to VSAT Systems’ extensive satellite uplink facility and infrastructure, which will provide direct access to the U.S. Internet backbone, guaranteeing high performance and security not currently available from local Costa Rican resellers of their government’s satellite system.
“We have been building out our teleport infrastructure in anticipation of the granting of this license,” said Kister. “We have invested nearly $1.3 million over the last 18 months in our network operations center in Akron to add additional capacity and redundancy to our systems.
“Not only will it improve the quality of service for customers already in Costa Rica, but we are also confident that our presence will spur other U.S. industries to follow suit, knowing they are supported by secure, reliable Internet and cellular service. This is a huge opportunity to open the market to Western-style competition.”
Datzap is authorized to begin offering service immediately, and is already actively recruiting Costa Rican resellers — allocating more than 100 million colones (roughly 200,000 U.S. dollars) in hardware and service incentives for potential resellers. VSAT Systems is able to offer extensive coverage using three of the most sought after geostationary satellites in the Western Hemisphere, allowing Datzap to provide service anywhere in Central America and the Caribbean.
“This authorization has been a long time coming, but we’re pleased to be granted access to this market,” said Datzap President Donald Wayne Jacobs, U.S. Citizen and resident of Costa Rica. “We’re extremely grateful to the Obama administration for their proactive trade policies and to the USTR for their tireless work on our behalf.
“Initially, we will provide services through resellers operating in rural areas of Costa Rica, but we expect to move into population centers soon thereafter. The terrain and existing infrastructure make Costa Rica an ideal candidate for satellite communications.”
Once up and running, Jacobs envisions Datzap quickly engaging markets such as cellular backhaul, agriculture, banking, disaster response and the retail grocery and restaurant trade.
About VSAT Systems
VSAT Systems, LLC is a satellite telecommunications provider headquartered in Akron, OH with offices in Virginia Beach, VA. and Washington, D.C. VSAT Systems employs 30 people, including computer and network engineers, technical support specialists and an administrative team. Log on to http://www.vsat-systems.com for more information.
Contact