Competition in the UK consumer broadband Satellite internet access market is hotting-up again today after ISP BeyonDSL announced a new service with download speeds of up to 4Mbps (0.25Mbps uploads) for just £29.99 inc. VAT per month. The package uses ASTRA's (ASTRA2Connect) satellites (23.5E Astra 1E, 1G, 3A) and includes a 2.5GB usage allowance.

In addition customers can add an extra 1GB to their allowance for £18 (one-off fee) or unlimited data between 11pm and 5am every night (FreeZone) for an extra monthly charge of £17. A 12 month minimum contract term applies.

BeyonDSL, in a further effort to keep up with its rivals, has also added the FreeZone upgrade - at no extra charge - to its slower packages. For example, the 1Mbps (ValueZone 1M) service now comes with FreeZone and includes a 2GB usage quote for the same price as their 4Mbps product.


We note that the required hardware usually costs £299.99 and an installation is typically around £100, which brings the total cost to £399.99. That's roughly the same as some of its rivals, albeit cheaper than most.

The service is clearly designed to take on Eutelsat's 3.6Mbps (0.38Mbps uploads) Tooway service, which includes a 2.4GB usage allowance for £25-£35 per month. Bently Telecom currently offer the cheapest version of this at £26.43 inc. VAT per month, with a "Complete Satellite System" promotion on the hardware for £334.87.

However Eutelsat's Eurobird 3 (33° East) based Tooway service is not designed to be shared with Sky or Freeset. It should also be noted that both Eutelsat and Avanti will soon have 10Mbps and 8Mbps capable broadband satellites in orbit. New services from related ISPs are expected from early next year.