Satellite Broadband Boost for Region’s Rural Areas

The recent launch of a new broadband satellite that will serve up to 350,000 thousand users across Europe could offer advantages to businesses and consumers in rural areas of the North East.

The team at The Centre for eBusiness has previously worked with Northumberland Strategic Partnership to boost broadband for users in some of the remotest parts of the county, but there is still much work to be done. Often, contractors will argue that it is too expensive to put in the infrastructure to serve a small potential market.

The Centre for eBusiness welcomes the news that the Avanti’s new Hylas 1 satellite will offer download speeds of up to 10mb, a massive increase on previous satellite broadband offerings, which were limited to 3.6mb. All companies signing up to use the satellite must offer a basic package with a 2mb connection costing no more than £25 per month; expensive compared to land-based products, but within the reach of most potential users.

Satellite broadband is important for the North East because, outside of its urban centres, our region often misses out on infrastructure investment by the larger telecoms providers. A high-speed data link allows companies to locate themselves in rural locations, while also giving people the opportunity to work from home, access new internet technologies via cloud computing, download videos or take part in virtual meetings, all of which require a fast link.

BT became the first major British communications provider to sign up to Avanti with a five year £1.2 million deal to offer connections to users in rural areas and the first customers are expected to come online in March 2011. This mean Hylas is not some far-off aspiration, it’s something that consumers can register their interest in right now.

A key advantage of the new satellites is that they offer two-way communication, so uploads are made via the satellite. This is a big improvement on earlier satellite solutions, which often relied on slow telephone connections to send information from your computer to the net, thereby slowing down the whole process.

Companies like the Fifiefofum Gallery, near Corbridge, have shown that internet-based businesses can prosper in rural areas, but we need to make sure that everyone has the same opportunity to benefit from the internet revolution. Wired broadband is still the best and most cost-effective delivery method, but if you’re in a rural area with no connection or severely limited speeds, this could be just what you’ve been looking for.

Pascal Fintoni is Chief Executive of the Centre for eBusiness (www.centreforebusiness.eu)