Satellite broadband launches in UK

Broadband satellite technology means that people living in rural Britain will soon have access to high speed broadband of up to 10Mbps.

Eutelsat, the company launching the service, currently offers ‘Tooway’ satellite broadband at speeds of up to 2Mbps.

The service costs £30 per month, plus a one off cost of £400 for the satellite receiver.

Eutelsat believes Tooway will transform Lord Carter’s vision of Digital Britain and universal Internet access into reality.

Arduino Patacchini, director of multimedia and value added services at Eutelsat, said: “Tooway will help make Lord Carter’s vision for Digital Britain a reality by revolutionising the consumer market for satellite Internet access.”

He added that Tooway could become the technology of choice ‘for geographical areas that are affected by the digital divide’.

However, in addition to the high costs, there are a number of significant limitations, including latency, and speed capping after the 1.2GB monthly download limit is reached.

The high speed 10Mbps service will launch in 2010.

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