It was presented for the first time at this year’s digital technology exhibition CeBIT in Hannover, Germany. The new technology will be showcased in Baden Württemberg, Germany, together with the Ministry of Rural Affairs, Nutrition and Consumer Protection and supported by technology partners Nokia Siemens Networks and NDSatCom.
The sub-distribution allows SES ASTRA to provide small communities in the white spots with broadband connections of up to 6 Mbit/s without households needing to install a satellite antenna at their homes. The satellite broadband connection is installed at the street cabinet of the community, and the broadband connection to the end customer is realized via the last mile infrastructure already in place. End customers only need a standard DSL modem, to access the broadband internet.
“We are very proud to be able to contribute to the current broadband discussion with such an innovative solution,” said Norbert Hölzle, Chief Commercial Officer at SES ASTRA. “Our sub-distribution solution bears an enormous potential to close the white spots in Germany while promoting cooperations between infrastructure providers and telco operators at the same time. We are convinced that we are offering an attractive service for communities, internet service providers and end customers alike.”
“The 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 subsidized by a variety of funds available in Germany.”
ASTRA2Connect is an interactive broadband internet service that is offered via distribution partners to end customers and businesses in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The service is independent from any terrestrial networks and is immediately available anywhere within the footprint of the satellite. To date, ASTRA2Connect has more than 75,000 end-users in Europe, thereby representing the largest satellite-based broadband network on the continent.
