Centuries after Marco Polo traveled the Silk Road, a namesake satellite platform is forging new ground in the tradition of the famed explorer. Intelsat, Telespazio, Telecom Italia Sparkle, and Hughes Europe are cooperating to provide high-quality broadband satellite services to Italian businesses operating in Eastern Europe and North Africa, using the new Marco Polo service platform.

With capacity provided by Intelsat on the IS-901 satellite, Telespazio operates the Marco Polo platform employing a Hughes HN7700 solution, including a network operations center, broadband satellite routers, and related services. The new service platform enables Telecom Italia and Telecom Italia Sparkle to deliver businesses highspeed Internet access, data and voice links, VoIP, and VPN solutions. Each location is equipped with a Hughes VSAT to access the satellite broadband offering with guaranteed levels of service. Now, with broadband services delivered via the new Marco Polo platform, businesses gain all the advantages of broadband connectivity— even where terrestrial infrastructure is not available.