Posted: 17th Jun, 2011 By: MarkJ


The
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