Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL), Europe’s leading satellite operator, announces that it will increase from July 1 the speed of its innovative Tooway™ consumer broadband service to 3.6 Mbps from 2 Mbps for no added cost. Maximum uplink speeds have also increased to 384 kbps for all customers. In addition, overnight usage volumes will be discounted by 50% between midnight and 6am GMT to reward use of the satellite network at times of traditional low usage.
“Tooway™ is a revolutionary satellite service offering consumers in rural and slowband areas the chance of true broadband access,” said Arduino Patacchini, Eutelsat Multimedia Director. “The dual benefits of increased speed and usage will ensure that Tooway™ customers continue to reap the benefits of our technology as we prepare for the launch of our KA-SAT satellite later in 2010, which will further raise broadband speeds to up to 10Mbps.”
Tooway™ is the first satellite two-way broadband service offering speeds and costs similar to ADSL. The service is based on Eutelsat’s satellite coverage, the commercial and infrastructure operating experience of Eutelsat’s subsidiary Skylogic, and SurfBeam technology developed by ViaSat. This technology used by Tooway™ comes to Europe after acquiring extensive experience on the North American market, where ViaSat already provides the equipment and network for over 400,000 homes with satellite broadband access fully independent from the terrestrial network. Today, Tooway™ is already serving customers in more than 20 European countries including the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Ireland, with additional countries across Europe rolling-out over the coming months.
The Tooway™ solution consists of a small satellite dish and a modem connected to the PC via the Ethernet, giving customers immediate broadband access following a simple installation. In addition, the Tooway™ service has the ability to deliver Voice over satellite telephony services and Direct-to-Home television using the Tooway™ dish.
In 2010, Eutelsat will expand the service with additional broadband access up to 10Mbps. These revolutionary broadband speeds will come from the launch of KA-SAT, the dedicated new satellite from Eutelsat specifically designed for broadband delivery in Europe. The satellite, which has the combined capacity of 40 traditional satellites, will enable Eutelsat to serve up to two million European homes at a similar speed, price and quality to terrestrial ADSL2 services.
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