Satellite operator SES Astra will offer households without broadband access from now on a possibility to gain high-speed internet via satellite without the need to install a satellite dish.

The data traffic is sent to the houses using the telephone line with computers being hooked up through a standard ADSL modem.

To be able to use the service, a central satellite dish for broadband service Astra2Connect has to be installed at the street cabinet of the local community. From there the signals are delivered to the households using the existing last-mile telephone infrastructure.

The solution, which can be implemented by telecommunications companies and internet service providers throughout Europe, enables a data rate of up to 6 Mbit/s. In German federal state Baden-Württemberg the technology is deployed for the first time in conjunction with the Ministry of Rural Affairs, Nutrition and Consumer Protection and supported by technology partners Nokia Siemens Networks and ND SatCom.

"Satellite is an ideal technology to offer rural areas without access to terrestrial broadband networks fast and reliable internet connections," said Michael Reiss, Division Vice President at the Ministry of Rural Affairs, Nutrition and Consumer Protection in Baden-Württemberg. "With SES Astra's new technology, communities in the white spots benefit from low costs in the set-up of the infrastructure which can be fully subsidised by a variety of funds available in Germany."
source: www.rapidtvnews.com