Satellite : Broadband Hits European Roadblock

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Satellite Broadband Hits European Roadblock (But All Is Not Lost)


10/29/2009 @ 6:55 PM

As European policy makers ponder national subsidies for broadband projects, satellite broadband appears to be getting the short end of the stick. As reported by Satellite Today, the satellite sector has been working hard to get its systems considered. Recently released guidelines, however, seem to have pushed the dishes off the table.

The European Commission’s first draft consultation paper concentrated solely on the “transition from copper to fiber-based networks.” And a footnote opined “at this stage … neither satellite nor mobile network technologies appear to be capable of providing very high speed symmetrical broadband services.”

That’s rough stuff for a technology which has moved forward by leaps and bounds, particularly via hybrid technologies, and which can guarantee coverage across the continent. However, satellite broadband is not completely shut out of European markets. Indeed, Eutelsat’s Tooway satellite broadband service announced yesterday that it has been chosen to provide high speed broadband connectivity to homes and businesses in rural Ireland. So while news from the commission may be bad, considerable upside could remain