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Satellite broadband viable option for rural areas

More advanced satellite broadband will enable the “final third” of the UK to access high speed internet, provider Broadband Wherever has claimed.

Offering speeds of 10Mbps the new Tooway KA Sat-Satellite service, which is currently being rolled out by Broadband Wherever, will give business and personal users in rural areas the same internet speeds as those who fall within ADSL coverage areas.

Shawn Hunt, director of Broadband Wherever, one of the UK’s main providers of Tooway, said as the technology was becoming more affordable it was increasingly becoming a viable option for internet users that were in areas exclueded from cable and ASDL services.

He said: “Satellite broadband has often been overlooked due to previously perceived high costs and slow speeds, but Tooway offers an affordable solution with the highest speeds of any other satellite broadband service. This new service from Tooway and Broadband Wherever will also help to address the greater problem of getting the “final third” of the population of Britain connected to a reliable broadband connection with speeds over 2 Mbps, an important advancement.”

Due to the low speeds -ranging from 512kbs to 2M- satellite broadband was previously seen as a poor alternative for those outside of traditional ADSL coverage areas, and only able to offer speed ranging from 512kbs to 2M. However, according to Broadband Wherever, Tooway’s new satellite broadband service allows for connection speeds of 10 Mbps download speeds and 4Mbps upload speed, making it the fastest satellite broadband service available in Europe. The new satellite offers a throughput capacity of 70Gbps, covering all Europe, with this area being covered by 82 spot beams.

Mr White said satellite broadband would also provide a viable solution to users who are not receiving the promised speeds from their current provider due to issues such as distance from the exchange and volume of traffic on the service. A recent report by Ofcom found that broadband download speeds are still less than advertised speeds.

Availability of broadband in rural areas has recently been a topic of debate in parliament with MPs urging communications regulator Ofcom to extend superfast mobile broadband to 98 per cent of the UK rather than its initial target of 95 per cent. It was also reported earlier in May that the government was unlikely to achieve its target of 90 per cent of the UK having access to superfast connections by 2015. BT has denied it is behind schedule in enabling exchanges for superfast broadband

Those interested in satellite broadband from Broadband Wherever can visit the website at: www.broadbandwherever.net