Satellite ISP Broadband Wherever has today advised UK people who are looking to purchase a new home that they should not "let poor broadband coverage stop them buying their dream house" because Satellite based solutions, some of which can offer download speeds of up to 10Mbps, are already available to everybody.

The comments were made in reaction to our February 2011 survey (here), which reported that 73.9% of respondents viewed broadband as being "Critically Important" to their home life (the ISPs press release mistakenly states the figure as 93.9%) and almost half (49.5%) would pay more for a house with faster broadband than they currently have.


Hunt makes a perfectly valid point about broadband speeds and availability, although consumers do tend to select their ISP based on other factors too; affordability, flexibility and service quality are often also cited as key considerations.

Satellite is now significantly more affordable and faster than it was just five years ago, although as a value proposition it's nowhere near being the cheapest or most flexible (small usage allowances, high latency etc.).

Naturally these are serious considerations, especially for lower income groups and people in urban areas where Satellite services often play second fiddle to superior fixed line solutions. It should be remembered that slow speeds are by no means isolated to rural areas.