Bringing high-speed broadband for the UK’s rural communities one step closer

London, UK, 18 March 2010: Eutelsat Communications today announced the successful completion of the UK-built communications module for its high-speed broadband communications satellite, KA-SAT. The communications module – the heart of the satellite, designed to receive and transmit broadband services to and from Internet users – has now been transferred from Astrium’s high-tech manufacturing facilities in Portsmouth to Toulouse, France, and integrated with the satellite’s service module for testing before its scheduled launch at the end of 2010.

The completion of this module brings the prospect of high-speed 10Mbps broadband access one step closer for the UK’s rural communities. Eutelsat’s existing Tooway™ satellite broadband service, launched in the UK in April 2009, already provides a 3.6Mbps broadband connection to UK consumers via a satellite dish and modem, from just £22.50 per month. Following the launch of Eutelsat’s KA-SAT spacecraft, a dedicated new satellite infrastructure specifically optimised to deliver broadband to homes beyond the range of terrestrial networks, broadband speeds will rise to 10Mbps with higher speeds possible to meet the future needs of consumers for increased internet bandwidth. 

Steve Petrie, Northern European Sales Director for Tooway™, said: “The successful completion of this UK-built communications module is a milestone in the delivery of high-speed broadband access in the rural areas of the UK. Tooway’s™ existing satellite broadband service can already more than meet the Government’s Digital Britain target of a 2Mbps service for all UK residents but KA-SAT will ensure that the broadband needs of UK rural residents continues to be met far into the future.”

Today, Tooway™ is already serving customers in more than 25 European countries including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Ireland and Greece with other countries across Europe rolling out over the coming months. Eutelsat is a leading European satellite operator with 26 satellites providing a footprint of more than 150 countries, and reaching 90% of the global population.