Eutelsat prepares to unwire UK

European satellite operator Eutelsat Communications did its bit for ‘Broadband Britain’ this week, introducing a satellite-based consumer internet service in the UK.

Catering for consumers in rural areas, Eutelsat’s Tooway service offers 2Mbps internet connectivity on the downlink and 256Kbps on the uplink  for £29.99 per month.

The company will deliver services via a network of distributors, which will be free to offer IPTV and VoIP telephony services using the same equipment.

Local distributors include Bentley Walker Satellite Internet Solutions, Avonline in Bristol, Satellite Solutions Worldwide in Oxfordshire and Remote Data Services in Perthshire, Scotland. The company already has satellite-based operations running in 20 European countries including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Ireland.

Tooway operates in the Ku-band of spectrum in the UK, and is delivered via Eutelsat’s own Eurobird 3 satellite In 2010, Eutelsat said it will expand the service with internet access up to 10Mbps, following the launch of a new satellite, KA-SAT, which claims to have the combined capacity of 40 traditional satellites.