Luxembourg, 27 June 2014 SES Broadband Services (SBBS) today announced its Astra Connect solution will be used as part of a pilot program to connect homes and businesses in the UK which cannot benefit from a Fibre-to-the-Cabinet deployment due to their remote locations.

The Government’s Department for Culture, Media & Sport selected SBBS’ distribution partner Satellite Internet to receive a grant after the British-based ISP applied for a part of its Broadband Delivery UK £10million Innovation Fund, which was announced earlier this year to explore ways to take high-speed broadband to the most remote and hardest to reach places in the UK.

Satellite Internet has been awarded funding to run a pilot project which will see several new satellite networks installed to provide superfast connections.  A feasibility study, carried out in partnership with Connecting Devon and Somerset, will be conducted first, before deployment starts later this year. This will be done through both individual Astra Connect connections, where a satellite dish is installed directly on each property and Astra Connect for communities, a connection to a single point which is then shared through a local network infrastructure such as WiFi. The communities’ solution was also selected earlier this year to be deployed to more than 20 remote German villages in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern region.

“This is an important national initiative and we are pleased to be able to deliver our proven solution as part of the project,” said Patrick Biewer, Managing Director of SES Broadband Services. “The Astra Connect solution is already providing reliable connections across the UK and Europe and we look forward to seeing it help bridge the digital divide further in the UK.”

The Managing Director of Satellite Internet, Mike Locke, continued: “Satellite broadband can be deployed right now, is cost effective and provides consistent, reliable and fast download speeds. It is already working for individuals and businesses across the country and is a known and realistic solution that can be installed anywhere.”

For the full announcement by DCMS about the BDUK Innovation Fund, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/10m-broadfund-fund-winning-bids-announced