- Title: BOLIVIA: Amachuma Satellite station opened
- Date: 2nd December 2013
- Summary: On November 2, 2013, President Evo Morales inaugurated the Amachuma Satellite Ground Control Station in the Andean city of El Alto. Less than three weeks before the launch of Bolivia’s Tupac Katari telecommunications satellite on December 20. The station was built on a plateau 4,000 metres above sea level in the city’s 10th District and employed 35 Chinese-trained Bolivian technicians to operate the station’s systems. It was the first such complex to be built in the country and consisted of 6 massive satellite dishes - one to send and receive signals from the satellite and five to monitor the satellite’s communication channels. The Bolivian Space Agency (ABE) stated that the construction of the station had cost around US$2.5 million with a further US$30 million for the technical installation. The satellite expected to start transmission in March-April 2014, when Bolivia would become the 7th Latin American country to have its own satellite after Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and Chile. Of those, only Bolivia and Venezuela possessed state-owned satellites. Once operational it was planned to use the satellite for communications and broadcasting services as well as for remote education and telemedicine projects. Named after Tupac Katari, an Indian who led an uprising against the conquistadors in the 18th century, Bolivia had borrowed the US$302 million needed to finance the project from the China Development Bank in a deal signed by both countries in 2010 WARNING: LOCAL MUSIC LICENCES MAY APPLY. Copyright laws covering the composition, arrangement and/or performance of music differ from country to country, and even from state to state within some countries. These range from limiting the law to specific circumstances - e.g. 'performances given by professionals to a paying audience' - to total coverage that encompasses everything from a professional performance to the most amateur rendition - e.g. 'spectators at sports events'. If in doubt we recommend that either the section containing 'Music' is deleted or that the sound level is turned down and covered with commentary.
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- Location: EL ALTO
- Reuters ID: LDL0001JEGTZX
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
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- Copyright Holder: Reuters Archive
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