The suitability of satellite broadband for connecting the UK's final 5% of people was confirmed on Monday 27 October 2015, after Internet Service Provider Satellite Internet revealed new figures demonstrating positive results for a UK Government-funded pilot programme testing the technology.

Superfast Satellite for Communities (SS4C) is based on SES Techcom Services’ Astra Connect for Communities solution, which uses a Satellite Distribution Node (SDN) feeding a fixed wireless access network to provide homes with superfast broadband. Any premises outside the wireless network range are fitted with a Direct-to-Home (DTH) dish on the wall and connected via individual modems.

61.5% of people participating in a free one-month trial chose to sign up to a one-year contract following the solution's initial installation in Luxborough. Tree trials are currently underway in Simonsbath, whilst Priddy is for the moment in the community engagement phase. Both Luxborough and Simonsbath have a population of about 100 households and are located in Exmoor National Park, Somerset, while Priddy with more than 200 homes is in the county’s Rodney Stoke Nature Reserve.  

"With its mixed methodology of SDN and DTH, the SS4C superfast broadband delivery model is fully scalable and can cover any geography, thus offering a 100% premises coverage in all but the most unlikely and extreme of cases," commented Mike Locke, Managing Director at Satellite Internet. "The feasibility of broadband provision over satellite is not in the least constrained – technically or commercially – by sparse population density, community remoteness or challenging geography. It can therefore play a full part to meet the needs of users who cannot be reached by more traditional Internet delivery, making it an ideal solution for the final five percent challenge faced by Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK)."

The Department for Culture Media and Sport selected Satellite Internet for the project in June of last year, following the submission of an application for financial support from BDUK's €10 million Innovation Fund. The provider has worked closely with Connecting Devon and Somerset, a public-private partnership of six local authorities set up to deliver superfast broadband infrastructure to areas where commercial investment plans are absent.

SES Techcom Services itself has been successful in employing more than 60 Astra Connect for Communities networks in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Baden-Wurttemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate, with additional communities awaiting deployment.

"Satellite is proven to be a reliable, cost-effective solution and this project represents a major step in providing broadband access for all in the region," commented Gerhard Bethscheider, Managing Director at SES Techcom Services. "It also demonstrates that satellite technology is vital in accelerating broadband roll-out."

 

Photo by SES