Posted: 25th May, 2011 By: MarkJ
BeyonDSL, a
SES ASTRA (
ASTRA2Connect) based UK provider of broadband Satellite internet (ISP) services, has revealed its plan to take on rivals from Eutelsat and Avanti by offering download speeds of above 10Mbps in the future.
The new speeds, which should begin with a
6Mbps package this summer, will become available on a rolling programme of introduction - starting later this year and continuing through to 2014 and beyond. It's understood that the new 10Mbps and faster packages will then surface between 2012, 2013 and 2014.
BeyonDSL Statement
Crucially, these new speeds will be available to our existing customers on their existing equipment once their initial 12 month contract has been fulfilled.
We will be contacting all customers during the next few weeks to advise them of their options but the simple thing to remember is that you will be able to upgrade to without changing your equipment. Some future services may require a dish realignment or iLNB swop.
The ASTRA2Connect service is expected to
serve more than 80,000 end-users in Europe and the UK by the end of May 2011 from its
23.5 degrees East orbital position. However, the faster 10Mbps+ products will need to come from their additional satellite capacity at
28.2 degrees East, hence the dish/iLNB adjustments.
Ferdinand Kayser, Chief Commercial Officer at SES, said:
"We are very proud that ASTRA2Connect has become the largest satellite broadband network in Europe helping to bridge the digital gap in many rural regions. More than 80,000 end users and a strong network of distribution partners including Deutsche Telekom and Nordnet of France Telecom demonstrate our success. I am convinced that our decision to invest into additional capacity and support higher broadband speeds will strengthen our offer and help us to further grow our customer base."
The move will add yet more competition to the market for satellite broadband services, which has been growing after Eutelsat launched their
KA-SAT spacecraft and Avanti launched
HYLAS 1; both are capable of download speeds in the 8Mbps to 10Mbps region.
It's worth pointing out that BeyonDSL's Astra Satellite service can be combined with SkyTV or Freesat on the same dish. The ISP currently has packages that offer download speeds of up to 4Mbps and at already fairly competitive prices.