The telecommunications engineering company will market in Belgium the American Starlink satellite internet access system, a division of billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX company. Venn Telecom hopes to double its business volume within 18 months.
The business of Venn Telecom, it is the so-called “improved” internet access. The company, based at the gates of Brussels, provides its industrial customers guaranteed and worldwide access to the internet, in all circumstances and with ease for users. There is therefore no longer any question for these industrial players of being satisfied with an intermittent or low-quality connection.
“Our customers have their own Internet access systems, explains Pierre-Gilles Dehaye, CEO of Venn Telecom. Our job is to provide them with a continuous service, for all their terminals, fixed or mobile (such as fleets of trucks or chain stores, editor’s note) by adding our technology on top of their own networks. And this, regardless of the mobile communication operators and regardless of the mobile technologies used. All on a global scale.”
Venn Telecom achieves this augmented interconnectivity without going through company networks, but via mobile networks such as 4G or 5G that add a layer of connectivity to existing systems.
As of this week, this Venn Telecom service can also count on Starlink satellite links, a division of SpaceXone of the billionaire companies Elon Musk. Venn Telecom has indeed become the first Belgian reseller of the terminals of the American firm.
How to boost your turnover? “Without a doubt, continues Pierre-Gilles Dehaye, but not by making a profit on the sale of American equipment. Starlink forces us to sell its terminals at the price at which we buy them from it. Our profit comes from complementary services that we offer to our customers thanks to this new resource.”
On its site, Starlink announces the color. To be able to have its satellites in high speed and low latency, it will cost the customer 80 euros per month and the prior purchase of the equipment, which is invoiced 460 euros.
Robust connectivity
Launched in 2014, Venn Telecom now has around twenty employees and continues to recruit. In 2021, its turnover was 3.3 million euros. This year, the boss expects 4.6 million. “A number that should double within 18 months thanks to the opportunities that Starlink offers us,” says Pierre-Gilles Dehaye,
Among the company’s clients are large corporations whose needs for robust connectivity are paramount. This is for example the VRT, Atlas Copco, AGC, Jan de Nul… “What we notice with the high-speed, low-latency internet services that we offer our customers is that this guaranteed accessibility allows companies to develop, to imagine new services, new products which could not exist before. We have some examples in telemedicine or robotics. As part of the “Cloud first” evolution of companies, the question of guaranteed access to the network is also essential”, insists the telecom engineer.
Cybersecurity
Pierre-Gilles Dehaye also welcomes the new opportunity that Starlink represents for his company in terms of cybersecurity. “We have strong new arguments in terms of connectivity resilience,” he says. “If a 4 or 5 G operator were to be impacted by a service cut, our solutions would continue to be operational thanks to the satellites.”
The development of Venn Telecom will immediately also go through theopening of a branch in France. “We were already working in France but via Belgian clients”, indicates Pierre-Gilles Dehaye. “The idea now is to work directly with local resellers and actively prospect the market. Eventually, this should lead to acquisitions.”
In France but also in Germany, Venn Telecom targets production industries. Not so much for their local activities but for their needs abroad. Especially for companies whose development programs are slowed down by connectivity issues.
The summary
- The telecommunications engineering company Venn Telecom provides its industrial customers with guaranteed, worldwide access to the Internet, in all circumstances.
- It is the first to market in Belgium the American Starlink satellite internet access system of Elon Musk.
- Enough to allow it to offer new arguments in terms of cybersecurity.
- This partnership will enable it to increase its turnover and open a branch in France.
Starlink wants to connect the planet from the sky
A division of SpaceX, billionaire Elon Musk’s company Starlink provides a internet connection via the largest constellation of latest generation satellites ever deployed.
This constellation allows the connectivity in the most isolated places where access has always been unstable, expensive or simply non-existent. Most satellite internet services come from geostationary satellites, located in a geostationary orbit some 36,000 km above the Earth. As a result, the round-trip data transmission time between the user and the satellite, also known as latency, is high, making it almost impossible to support activities that require high data rates.
The satellites of the Starlink constellation, which sail at an altitude of 550 km, therefore orbit much closer to the planet. Their latency is significantly lower. It goes from 600 milliseconds to about 20 milliseconds. Enough to allow high speed and high speed
Join the Yaka dynamic!
Yaka! is an invitation launched by L’Echo to the entire French-speaking business community to stimulate the entrepreneurial spirit in Wallonia and Brussels.
The Yaka!
Yaka! is an initiative of L’Echo to boost the entrepreneurial spirit in Wallonia and Brussels.
A new generation of entrepreneurs is bursting with energy and ambition. They want to become champions in their field. The Echo has created Yaka! to allow them to connect, learn from each other and, thus, realize their ambitions.
The launch of this multi-year program is taking place this fall, notably at an event bringing together more than 100 leaders of fast-growing companies.
But, Yaka! does not stop at these types of companies. On the contrary, L’Echo invites the entire French-speaking business community to dare to think big. This will be done through a wide range of Yaka! content and events: instructions for growth, inspiring and useful business information and initiatives, podcasts, newsletters, peer-to-peer learning sessions, etc.
With Yaka!, L’Echo wants to boost entrepreneurial ambition in Wallonia and Brussels. The ingredients are there: well-made heads, creativity, means, entrepreneurs full of projects and ambitions. At some point, you have to go. Yaka!