UK ISP Cerberus Networks has given ISPreview an unexpected surprise this afternoon after they began informing their customers about their decision to introduce “high-speed satellite internet services“, which will aim to deliver broadband speeds of “up to 150Mbps” and should complement their existing range of fixed line plans.
According to the notice, seen by ISPreview, the new service will harness Eutelsat’s recently launched Konnect VHTS (Very High Throughput) broadband satellite, which went live back in October 2023 (here) and is currently in a high Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) of around 35,000km. The VHTS weighs 6.3 tonnes, supports 230 beams over Western Europe and has a large Ka-band (radio spectrum) capacity of around 500Gbps (Gigabits per second).
However, the same announcement refers to their service as also offering a “Low Earth Orbit Business Broadband” service, before saying that both their “LEO and GEO satellite packages offer speeds of up to 200Mbps with various data usage options to suit your needs.”
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In other words, Cerberus Networks have launched a set of both GEO and LEO powered satellite broadband packages, although it’s not completely clear what satellites they’re harnessing for the LEO service. But we assume it’s OneWeb, as Eutelsat is the only company named.
Extract for Cerberus Network’s Customer Letter
Why Choose Satellite Internet?
Easy Setup: Our managed installations are performed by experienced engineers, ensuring you are connected quickly and easily, anywhere in the UK and Europe.
Short Lead Times: Unlike traditional fixed-line services, satellite installations can be completed within days. We handle shipping and schedule the installation at your convenience.
Broad Coverage: Satellite services are ideal for remote, rural, or underserved areas where traditional internet services may not be available.
Resilient and Dependable: Our high-speed broadband is perfect for business communications, offering reliable connectivity for areas with poor internet access or as a failover for wired broadband.
Is Satellite Broadband Right for You?
If you are experiencing slow broadband speeds or unreliable connections, satellite broadband might be the perfect solution. It works almost everywhere, providing internet services similar to a wired service. While latency is slightly higher with GEO networks, it is suitable for many business applications. Our experts can help you choose the best service for your needs.
Get Connected Now!
Your satellite service will be activated once your equipment is installed. Our team will contact you to arrange an installation date within a few days of processing your order. We offer packages with different speeds and data allowances to match your specific requirements, from businesses to busy households to occasional users.
The customer email includes a link to a promotional document, which right at the bottom also adds some details on their business-focused satellite broadband packages and prices – both the GEO and LEO solutions. Naturally, as OneWeb’s LEO solution isn’t normally aimed at the domestic market, then that particular solution is a bit more expensive.
The GEO packages typically start at £40 +vat per month for their entry-level 30Mbps (5Mbps upload) package with 20GB (GigaBytes) of priority data, after which the service speeds will typically be throttled. But take note that their GEO packages will only be able to offer slow latency times of around 600-700ms (milliseconds) and there’s no mention of that the LEO service can deliver, but it’ll probably be below the 100ms mark.
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Cerberus just SPAMd me the same thing. I’m an ex-customer and had opted out of marketing. They need to take better care.
Hi Phil.
We’re sorry that we sent you an email in error.
Please could you email me at info@cerberusnetworks.co.uk with your details and I will make sure that you have been correctly removed from any lists. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience.
Thanks,
Bob
So not only is it prohibitively expensive it doesn’t even offer the “high-speed satellite internet services” they’re touting, i mean what a cop-out. Someone needs to educate them that its 2024!
did the maths.
first month alone, you’re looking at spending £535.
if you went for starlink, which doesn’t have speed caps of 1mbps (lol) after using your data, oh and it’s faster both up and down, you’d be looking at spending £225. So you’d be spending £307 more (admittedly most of that is in the insane ‘installation charge’) for worse service. I’m far from a musk fanboy, but this makes zero economic sense to me to buy a more expensive slower service that caps you down to an unusable (yeah 1mbit is really unusable for everything but whatsapp/email) speed after your data pacakge is exhausted. I can’t fathom the logic. at all.
yeah, definitely they’ve missed that train. With offer way worse than Starlink, especially GEO offer is a joke with latency of ~600ms.
This seems terrible value compared to Starlink
Great for people who don’t like elon