Posted: 22nd Feb, 2012 By: MarkJ

European Satellite supplier
Skylogic ( Eutelsat ) has today launched its new '
Tough 20 Tooway Broadband Challenge', which pledges to install their 'up to'
10Mbps capable
Tooway™ service in 20 of the
toughest locations (i.e. remote rural areas) across the UK. Better yet they'll offer it as a
FREE service, at least for 2012.
Skylogic is already understood to be
inviting local authorities to suggest the toughest locations and will announce the first places "
in the coming weeks". At this stage it's unclear which UK based
satellite ISPs have been selected to deliver the service.
Steve Petrie, Skylogic’s UK Director for Tooway™, said:
"With over 40% of people in UK rural areas still not receiving broadband speeds greater than 2Mbps, it’s no surprise that many people still think that broadband is just not possible in Not Spots and Slow Spots.
This may have been true in the past, but no longer. Tooway™ can deliver high speed broadband to everyone, everywhere and we intend to prove with the “Tough 20 Tooway Broadband Challenge” that there need be no exclusions to broadband access."
The service will be delivered via Eutelsat's
Ka-band based
KA-SAT (9° East) spacecraft, which was successfully launched into space during late December 2010 (
here) and finally entered commercial operation in May 2011 (
here). Councils wishing to suggest sites for the challenge are invited to contact
Lorraine Jones to register their interest at
ljones@rscassociates.net .