UPDATE Eutelsat and Skylogic Scrap Unlimited Tooway Satellite Broadband

Satellite operator Eutelsat (Skylogic) appears to be feeling a strain on its broadband capacity after it began advising ISPs in the UK, and we assume the rest of Europe too, that their current top-end unlimited usage package would be withdrawn by the end of August 2013.

Broadband satellites operate with only limited capacity and so it was no surprise that, when the new 20Mbps capable Tooway™ Absolute service first launched in January 2013 (here), it was also accompanied by a warning. This explained how the package would only be available to “the first 20,000 customers across Europe“.

As a result the withdrawal, which was spotted by Thinkbroadband, could thus either be taken as a sign that the hugely expensive package (costing around £80 a month) has been very successful or that Eutelsat’s KA-SAT and related spacecraft are beginning to feel a strain on their capacity (possibly both).

A Statement from UK ISP Rural Broadband said (here):

“It has been announced by Skylogic that at the end of August they will no longer be providing the Unlimited service. This has been replaced with the XX-Large service which has a data allowance of 50GB.

We have already changed our prices to reflect these changes.

NB: At present there are no plans to change the Unlimited service that is currently being provided to Tooway customers.”

Eutelsat’s latest KA-SAT spacecraft has a total capacity of 90Gbps (Gigabits/sec) and initially aimed to serve more than a million people. Now this might seem like a lot but it has to serve connections right across Europe and only began by offering speeds of up to 8Mbps, which have since been raised to 20Mbps.

We had initially delayed this article in the hope of getting a statement or clarification from Skylogic but unfortunately none has arrived. But we will update again if that changes.

UPDATE 29th July 2013

It took awhile but Eutelsat finally responded to confirm the ending of their unlimited solution.

A Spokesperson for Eutelsat told ISPreview.co.uk:

“I can confirm that the Tooway Absolute service will no longer be offered to new customers from July 30th in the UK and Ireland and from September in other European countries, where it has been available. Services for existing Tooway Absolute customers will continue as normal.

The Tooway Absolute service has always been marketed as a short term opportunity and has been a great success. The new Tooway XXL service package offering, with a monthly data allowance of 50GB per month, will be its permanent successor.”