Longmont, Colo., Feb. 1, 2006 – DigitalGlobe announced that its Brazil-based partner INTERSAT, a division of IMAGEM, has provided DigitalGlobe’s high-resolution QuickBird imagery to its telecommunications client TELEMAR (www.telemar.com.br).
TELEMAR has a license to use approximately 10,000 square kilometers of 60-centimeter resolution QuickBird imagery from INTERSAT. The Brazilian telecommunications firm will use the imagery in conjunction with Basic Urban Map (MUB), INTERSAT’s GIS feature, to analyze telecommunications solutions.
The combination of highly detailed satellite imagery and GIS technology enables telecommunication professionals to integrate location-based data into analysis and management processes for network planning and operations, marketing and sales, customer care, data management, and many other planning and problem-solving tasks.
“By integrating QuickBird imagery into MUB, TELEMAR has acquired an enhanced knowledge of its service area and customer needs. This new application is enhancing TELEMAR’s network planning strategies and is creating investment opportunities in new technologies, which will in turn generate more appealing products to attract and hold customers,” said Adriano Junqueira, telecom vertical manager for INTERSAT.
INTERSAT’s MUB is an urban map created upon high-resolution satellite images. It provides sets of geographic information such as city boundaries, roads, urban streets, population and other attributes that can help urban planners achieve their mapping and planning goals.
When the telecommunications services monopoly in Brazil ended in 1998, telecom companies needed aggressive strategies for coping with market pressures in a new competitive environment. These companies sought technologies that would allow them to offer a variety of services that would attract clients while meeting the goals established by the government’s regulatory bodies.
TELEMAR is the largest provider of fixed-line and mobile telecommunication services in South America and has concessions from the Brazilian Government to provide fixed-line telecommunication services in the region, which consists of 16 states including the state of Rio de Janeiro. The region covers approximately 64 percent of the country, has a population of 93 million and produces approximately 40 percent of the country’s GDP. TELEMAR has approximately 18 million fixed telecommunication lines and 9 million mobile services installed, and a fiber optic cable network covering more than 31,500 kilometers.
About INTERSAT
INTERSAT – Satellite Images (www.intersat.com.br) is a Brazilian company specialized in the commercialization of images obtained by many satellites, and now highlights in the market by the wide range of offered products, by the high quality of its products and, specially, by the high value it adds to the solutions presented to its clients. Based in the city of São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil, INTERSAT started its activities in 1995, with the purpose of offering the maximum quality in services based on geographical information, obtained from satellite images. Its working team, consisting on highly specialized technicians, guarantees to the clients the choice of the most well fitted solutions for their specific issues, obtaining results that add high value to planning and decision-taking processes in a practical and straightforward way, with the best possible cost-to-benefit ratio.
About IMAGEM
IMAGEM is the Brazilian leading company in GIS technology. It is headquartered in São José dos Campos, SP, and works with Telecom, Defense, Environment, Transportation, Oil & Gas, Utilities, Agriculture and Geomarketing markets. In addition to orbital imagery, QuickBird and Spot imagery (INTERSAT’s domain), IMAGEM has Geographic Intelligence Solutions, and is the authorized distributor for ESRI and LEICA products in Brazil. IMAGEM also offers a wide range of databases for a variety of applications.
About DigitalGlobe
Longmont, Colo.-based DigitalGlobe (www.digitalglobe.com) is the clear leader in the global commercial Earth imagery and geospatial information market. The company’s technical superiority and innovation, unparalleled commitment to customer service, extensive business partner network and open systems philosophy make DigitalGlobe the preferred supplier of imagery products to government and commercial markets. DigitalGlobe’s QuickBird satellite is the world’s highest resolution commercial imaging system. The company’s next-generation WorldView I is scheduled to launch no later than 2006, and WorldView II is anticipated to launch in 2008, pending finalization of customer contracts. The company’s updated and growing ImageLibrary contains over one hundred million square kilometers of global imagery for countless mapping and planning needs.