Ireland's
National Broadband Scheme is to use a satellite broadband
service to deliver high-speed broadband connectivity to thousands
of homes and businesses in rural areas.
Satellite Broadband Ireland will deliver the
Tooway satellite broadband service
from
Eutelsat Communications under its recently won contract from
mobile broadband provider 3.
The mobile broadband firm is running the National Broadband
Scheme (NBS) on behalf of the Irish Government.
The 3.6Mbps satellite broadband service will be delivered to up
to 5% of the 223,000 targeted buildings across rural Ireland.
The Tooway system consists of a small satellite dish and a modem
connected to the PC to give users broadband internet access.
The agreement underlines the core role satellites are actively
playing in building an inclusive digital environment across Europe,
said Arduino Patacchini, multimedia director at Eutelsat.
Damien Gallagher, NBS project director at 3, said the agreement
with Satellite Broadband Ireland is an important part of Ireland's
National Broadband Scheme roll-out.
"Satellite broadband is the only viable option in a small
percentage of buildings without which certain parts of rural
Ireland would remain unconnected," he said.
Eutelsat plans to launch a new satellite dedicated to broadband
deliver in Europe which will enable the company to expand the
service with access speeds of up to 10Mbps in 2010.