"Aldea was created in Canada, but the company is international," said Lionel Bentolila, CEO of Aldea Solutions Inc. "It is a company with a very strong Latin component since 70% of Aldea's employees speak Spanish".
Speaking to SportsLatam, Bentolila reviews the company's latest developments, whose growth comes from its workforce's efforts. "Aldea is technically very strong; there is no technical transmission problem we cannot solve with our engineers," said Bentolila.
"Aldea is a company that is a community for those who create content and those who receive content," explained the CEO of the company. "We want to join this growing platform that has no barriers in technology, working with the best technologies and adapting them. We been increasing our work with streaming for the past two years."
What are the strengths of Aldea?
At Aldea we specialize in transmitting live content, especially sports but also live channels. We are the first company that has a completely innovative fiber optic coverage, ranging from Canada to Chile, through all the major markets, the US, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, etc.
What are the company's main customers in Latin America?
Our clients are all major channels in each country. Whether it's Mexico, Brazil or Argentina. We work with the most important ones, such as the US Hispanic. In terms of markets, we began with Mexico and Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela. Last year we did a lot of business in Brazil. People talk a lot about Brazil because it hosted the World Cup in 2014 and now the Olympics in 2016, but Aldea has been there since 2005. In Mexico since 2002, in Argentina since 2006. We have spent many years in the market.
How was this year for the company?
We just came out of a very busy 2014 with the World Cup in Brazil, because we worked with major customers in the region, like Directv, FOX Sports and the national TV channels in each country. This year was also a hectic year because we began with the Copa America in Chile, followed by the Pan American Games in Toronto, and between the two we had the FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada, Roland Garros and the US Open. Now, we are barely out of it and we are already preparing for the Olympics in Rio, working with clients and seeing how to serve them best.
What new business has Aldea undertaken in Latin America?
We recently expanded, opening two markets in Central America, in Guatemala and Honduras, specifically for customers who needed broadcasts in those countries. In Uruguay, which is also important for us to cover the region, we started working in late July. What we do is serve our clients where they want to go, give them this fiber connectivity that is unique in the market. We have clients outside the Americas, in Europe and Asia.
