New broadband satellite offers hope to rural areas

Rural areas could get connection of up to 10mbps early next year thanks to Hylas, a new broadband satellite.

 

 

High speed broadband connections could finally extend to remote rural areas thanks to the launch of a new satellite. The “Highly Adaptable Satellite” (Hylas) will launch this evening and offer up to 350,000 connections across Europe when testing is finished in early 2011.

Originally planned for last year, Hylas’s launch, from French Guyana, will be the first of a new generation of satellites that offer users speeds of up to 10mbps for fees that are likely to be around £25 per month. A larger version, Hylas 2, is planned for launch in 2012.

David Williams, chief executive of Avanti, the company that owns British-built satellite, said services will be available through 60 providers across Europe and will offer a similar level of service to that available from most fixed broadband providers. Power can be switched from one area to another, allowing maximum use of the satellites resources around the clock.