Home » 

UK ISP News Archives

 » 
Sponsored Links

UK Space Council Plugs the Advantages of Satellite to Fix Rural Broadband Woes

Posted: 17th Jun, 2011 By: MarkJ
eutelsat ka-sat broadband uk satellitehylas1 broadband satellite ukThe Space Leadership Council (SLC), which claims to provide strategic advice to the UK Space Agency (an executive agency for the governments Department of Business, Innovation and Skills), has today published a new report that specifically promotes the advantages of Satellite technology in delivering broadband internet access services into remote communities. It also calls for the government to consider a new subsidy scheme that would off-set the high setup costs.

The report claims that Satellite services are "often perceived as slow and expensive", a situation that it now believes to have changed with the launch of new Ka-band (radio spectrum) based satellite's and geographic spot beams from EU and UK serving operators like Eutelsat (KA-SAT) and Avanti (HYLAS 1).

It states that both of the new KA-SAT and HYLAS 1 satellites' are able to "deliver broadband between 20 and 30 times more efficiently" than legacy Ku-band services. Indeed most of the initial services are already offering headline speeds of up to 10Mbps (Megabits per second).

David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science and Space Leadership Council co-chair, said:

"The UK’s space telecommunications sector are essential to activities across many sectors of the UK economy. The launch of ‘next generation’ satellite broadband services by companies such as Avanti means we can now properly address the challenge of universal broadband access for our most remote communities."

The report estimates that the new satellites will have the capacity to deliver up to 150,000 functional broadband connections in the UK by mid-2011, rising to 225,000 by 2012 and 300,000 at the end of 2014 as "further satellites on order are added to the network" (e.g. HYLAS 2 and 3).

Sadly such deployments do not come cheap, with substantial new investment of between £1bn and £1.5bn being required, much of which has already been met by the private sector. This, claims the report, should allow even faster services with headline downstream speeds of between 20Mbps and 24Mbps to surface in the near future.

The SLC also recognises that the "user experience of satellite broadband will not be identical to that delivered over the fixed fibre network", which is due to their limited transmission capacity and higher latency (i.e. useless for fast-paced multiplayer games and regular video streaming/downloads). Curiously there's no mention of the high setup costs, which can reach up to and over the £500 mark.

The issues above are minor, claims the report, when weigh against the technology's "ubiquity and consistency of service"; particularly when it comes to remote areas where satellite is likely to be the only choice, at least for a few more years. As a result the SLC firmly believes that more should be done to raise the profile of such services.
The report recommends that the satellite industry should:

• Energetically market satellite broadband services in target markets in the UK with competitive offerings for service performance, costs, fair usage caps and customer support;

• Continue with current plans to move existing satellite customers from older to new satellite services as a priority as new capacity becomes available;

• Manage the complex issues around capacity sharing and through the delivery value chain to avoid over-subscribing services as happened with the rapid take up of services in the US;

• Work closely with Broadband Delivery UK and local communities to promote early and cost-effective introduction of satellite services through clearly articulating the satellite broadband offer and engage fully in BDUK’s local procurement exercises; and

• Define further high-capacity satellite solutions with manufacturers and continue to develop innovative technologies, including the provision of seamless broadband and broadcast systems.
Furthermore, the report calls upon the government to assist in communicating to stakeholders (i.e. those bidding for rural contracts) the capabilities and benefits of Satellite broadband. It also demands that they not be excluded through local SLA's that would "set operating performance at a level that excludes satellites services".

Perhaps most crucially the report suggests that the government should consider a "subsidised" delivery of satellite solutions into "Not Spot" locations, where either no or very slow broadband connectivity already exists. This would be a good way to overcome the discouragingly high setup costs of Satellite and other similar solutions (e.g. BT's long reach fixed-line 2Mbps Broadband Enabling Technology).

Readers should also check out our recent quick comparison of next-gen UK rural satellite broadband ISP prices for more details. Speeds of 6Mbps (4GB usage allowance) are available from around £25 per month via ISPs like Tooway Direct (Eutelsat based).
The Full SLC Report (PDF)
http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/bispartners/ukspaceagency/docs/industry/satellite-broadband-services-rep.pdf
Search ISP News
Search ISP Listings
Search ISP Reviews
Cheap BIG ISPs for 100Mbps+
Community Fibre UK ISP Logo
100Mbps
Gift: None
Vodafone UK ISP Logo
Vodafone £23.00
150Mbps
Gift: None
Youfibre UK ISP Logo
Youfibre £23.99
150Mbps
Gift: None
NOW UK ISP Logo
NOW £25.00
100Mbps
Gift: None
Virgin Media UK ISP Logo
Virgin Media £25.99
132Mbps
Gift: None
Large Availability | View All
Cheapest ISPs for 100Mbps+
BeFibre UK ISP Logo
BeFibre £19.00
150Mbps
Gift: None
Community Fibre UK ISP Logo
100Mbps
Gift: None
Gigaclear UK ISP Logo
Gigaclear £19.00
300Mbps
Gift: None
toob UK ISP Logo
toob £22.00
150Mbps
Gift: None
Vodafone UK ISP Logo
Vodafone £23.00
150Mbps
Gift: None
Large Availability | View All
Sponsored Links
The Top 15 Category Tags
  1. FTTP (6160)
  2. BT (3694)
  3. Politics (2780)
  4. Business (2488)
  5. Openreach (2447)
  6. Building Digital UK (2365)
  7. Mobile Broadband (2205)
  8. FTTC (2094)
  9. Statistics (1953)
  10. 4G (1859)
  11. Virgin Media (1814)
  12. Ofcom Regulation (1619)
  13. Fibre Optic (1492)
  14. Wireless Internet (1478)
  15. 5G (1456)
Sponsored

Copyright © 1999 to Present - ISPreview.co.uk - All Rights Reserved - Terms  ,  Privacy and Cookie Policy  ,  Links  ,  Website Rules