ECash Venue

now or never
Eutelsat is launching its “Tooway” service in the UK this week. The service offers speeds of up to 2 Mbps and should cover the entire country. This is a similar speed and goal outlined in Lord Carters ‘Digital Britain’ report, although the government’s aims involve using fixed line and mobile broadband to achieve the goal.

The service uses an existing satellite right now, but the French firm aims to launch a new satellite in 2010 that will be able to offer speeds of up to 10 Mbps even to those in isolated rural areas. The new satellite with use the Ka band for its high speed transmission and cover all of Europe, from Ireland to Turkey.

The firm is aiming its service at those customers who have been left in the dark as far as broadband is concerned. Those in rural areas will be able to receive the service which includes an upload speed of 256 kbps.

Of course, there’s a reason that satellite broadband has never really caught on. One of the main problems is the latency involved in communicating with a satellite in orbit compared to an exchange down the road. Eutelsat say that VOIP and video services will not be affected by latency. It has admitted however that online games won’t work well with the service. However, if you’re considering satellite in the first place, chances are it’s your only option for high speed broadband.
Satellite Broadband Costs Compared With ADSL

The biggest problem with the service is the price. Eutelsat’s services costs £29.99 a month but there is a large initial payout. The hardware itself and the installation of the dish and receiver will cost around £400 and be performed by local satellite companies. This high initial cost could put many users off. In comparison, the standard connection charge for an ADSL connection ranges from free to a high of around £50.

Once installed however, the receiver will be ready to accept speeds of 10 Mbps when the service launches next year. The company will also be offering packaged phone and TV services to make the monthly pricing scheme more attractive.

Although satellite remains a last resort for many in terms of both speed and price, the service could be the first time many rural users see broadband internet speeds in their own homes.