Eutelsat’s Tooway satellite Internet service makes broadband for all a reality in Ireland
4 May 2009
Eutelsat Communications, has launched its revolutionary new Tooway™ consumer Internet access service in Ireland, making broadband for all a reality. Using satellite technology available from just €25 per month, Tooway™ can now offer Ireland’s rural homes, and those in slowband areas, access to 2 megabit per second (2Mbps) broadband services without the need for any existing telephone line infrastructure. In addition, Skylogic, a subsidiary of Eutelsat which develops, operates and markets broadband solutions and IP applications, will invest €7 million in Ireland building its own satellite communications hub for its operations.
According to the Commission for Communications Regulation only 62.6% of homes in Ireland currently have a broadband connection to the Internet. The Tooway™ service offers two-way satellite access to users, without the need for a telephone line, delivering speeds of 2Mbps on the downlink and 256 Kbps on the uplink. The service is also triple play-ready, allowing distributors to offer additional TV and IP telephony services using the same equipment.
Sold in Ireland via the certified local distributors Satellite Broadband Ireland and Digiweb, the Tooway™ solution consists of a small satellite dish and a modem connected to the PC via Ethernet, giving customers Internet access following a simple installation. The roll-out of the Tooway™ service is expected to drive additional installation, customer service and support job opportunities as the local distributors expand.
“Tooway™ will help eliminate the digital divide in Ireland by revolutionising the consumer market for satellite Internet access,” said Arduino Patacchini, Director of Multimedia and Value Added Services at Eutelsat. “Tooway™ is able to offer true broadband access with total independence from existing infrastructures. It has the technology and capacity to become the definitive, low-cost solution for geographical areas, bringing broadband to all.”
Tooway™ is the first satellite two-way broadband service offering similar speeds and costs to ADSL. The service is based on Eutelsat’s satellite coverage, Skylogic’s operating experience and ViaSat’s SurfBeam technology. The technology used by Tooway™ comes to Europe after acquiring extensive experience on the North American market, where ViaSat already provides the equipment and network for over 400,000 homes with satellite broadband access fully independent from the terrestrial network. Today, Tooway™ is already serving customers in 20 European countries including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and the UK with other countries across Europe rolling out over the coming months.
Tooway™ operates in the Ku-band in Ireland. It is delivered using Eutelsat’s EUROBIRD™ 3 satellite at 33º East. In 2010, Eutelsat will expand the service with additional high speed Internet access up to 10Mbps. These revolutionary broadband speeds will come from the launch of KA-SAT, a dedicated new satellite from Eutelsat, specifically designed for broadband delivery in Europe. The satellite, which has the combined capacity of forty traditional satellites, will enable Eutelsat to deliver Internet access to up to two million European homes at a similar speed, price and quality to that of terrestrial ADSL2 services.
The programme will involve a total investment by the Eutelsat group of €7m in Ireland building a new satellite communications hub as an essential part of the new KA-SAT infrastructure.
